JOSEPH A. FRANCO

Joseph A. Franco, Sr., 84, of Panama City Beach, Florida passed peacefully in his home on January 23, 2009. He was born in Queens, New York on January 21, 1925, to Vincenza and Anthony Franco. He graduated from Forest Hills High School and attended New York University. He was a retired Industrial Arts Teacher having taught at Bryant High School in Queens, New York. He was a United States Army veteran who served in World War II, and was a member of the K of C Council 584 in Sag Harbor, New York. Joseph was a long time resident of Sag Harbor, New York until October 2003 when he and his wife, Florence, relocated to Panama City Beach. He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Florence C. Franco; son Joseph A. Franco, Jr. and granddaughter Alexis 0.; daughter Mary E. Franco; and son Anthony P. Franco and his wife, Joanne; granddaughter Emma R, all of Panama City, Florida, and grandson Robert Edwards and his wife, Harmony of Ft. Walton Beach, Florida; sister-in-law Rita Rando of Panama City Beach, Florida; niece Dr. Therese Rando and husband Anthony Viscione and their children Elizabeth-Ann and Thomas of Richmond, Rhode Island; niece Dr. Mary Elizabeth Mancini and husband David and daughters Laura and Carla of Dallas, Texas; nephew Thomas Rando and wife Susan and their children Thomas A. and Marielle of Powhatan, Virginia; and numerous cousins and relatives.

The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 p.m. on Monday at Wilson Funeral Home with a rosary service at 7 p.m. There will be a funeral mass at St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, January 27, 2009 with Rev. Jerzy Zieba, CR, officiating. Entombment will follow in the Forest Lawn Cemetery Mausoleum.

The family requests, in lieu of flowers that contributions be made to Covenant Hospice,107 W. 19th Street, Panama City, Florida 32405 or St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church, 1008 Fortune Avenue, Panama City, Florida 32401.

Wilson Funeral Home