Sarah (Arcidiacono) Fuoco

Sarah (Arcidiacono) Fuoco was born on February 9, 1933 to Charles and Rose (Tomarchio) Arcidiacono in Lawrence, Massachusetts. died at home peacefully on September 6.

Sarah, affectionately known as Sally, grew up on Prospect Hill in Lawrence. Her parents did not have a car, so she walked everywhere in all kinds of weather. . One of her favorite memories was going shopping with her father every Saturday. Sally and her father Charlie would walk to Fisichelli’s Bakery and she would get to pick out a cookie. The time with her father Charlie was precious to her. She also enjoyed rollerskating, reading and music. Sally loved to sing, and even in her later years, would remember and sing songs she learned in school, such as “Playmate” and “You Are My Sunshine.”

Her mother suffered a severe stroke when Sally was a young teenager, and she took on many family responsibilities to help her parents. She adored caring for her younger brother Charlie, who was 12 years younger than her. Throughout her life, Sally treasured her relationship with her brother. She was always devoted to her family, and did a lot of the cooking, cleaning and whatever chores needed to be done to help her family.

Sally took business courses at Lawrence High School. Her high school yearbook said, “Sally is a grand girl to know, with a wonderful personality whose smile won her many friendships. She is popular with her classmates and everyone enjoys her company. We know she will be successful in any field she may enter.”

How true! Sally’s smile warmed many hearts throughout her life, as she was always a gift to those who knew her.

Upon graduation from Lawrence High, she worked at the Massachusetts State House in Boston, a job she enjoyed very much. Each day, she would walk to the train from her home on High Street, through all kinds of weather. She worked as clerical staff, utilizing her business training. Being trustworthy and having an excellent reputation were part of the hiring process.

After a few years, she then went to work at Western Electric in Andover, MA.

Sally always loved God and the Bible, and in high school, when her best friend Lydia DeZazzo offered her a Bible study with Jehovah’s Witnesses, she accepted. Sally was baptized on January 18, 1961 and attended the congregation on Garden Street where she met the love of her life, a handsome and hard working young man who noticed her the very first time she attended a meeting. Joseph Fuoco recalls the pretty blue dress she was wearing the first time she walked into the congregation and he was immediately smitten. Joe and Sally fell in love, and the first time they were ever alone, Joe proposed at the Windsor Mills Restaurant in Dracut, MA.

Joe and Sally married on June 16, 1962 at the Methuen Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, thus began a 64-year love story

They honeymooned in Niagara Falls, and bought their first home, a two family in Lawrence on Hilltop Avenue. In December of 1964, they had their daughter, Paula Rosemarie.

The couple moved to Nashua, NH in December of 1968. A few years later, Joe started his own accounting business. Sally worked alongside Joe to build a very successful business that started in a small upstairs bedroom, then expanded to their basement, and then to an office building on Northeastern Boulevard. Sally answered phones, filed, and supported Joe in building a successful tax accounting business, and later a property management company. Those who worked alongside Sally often remarked on her warm, friendly, and kind disposition. Even when she did collection work for their business, she did it in such a way that people would miss her and enjoy her calling even though they were late.

Joe and Sally were among the great love stories of all time, says her daughter Paula. They enjoyed each other’s company and always lit up in one another’s presence. They worked together, served God together, and were always a couple very much in love. They were affectionately referred to by friends as “the dynamic duo.” They loved dancing together, as Sally loved music.

The couple travelled extensively, with wonderful trips to Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Jamaica, Bermuda, Mexico, and Provance, France. For the past 21 years, they spent winters in Ormond Beach, Florida where they made many friends, and summers they vacationed at Salisbury Beach with their family.

Paula said growing up with Sally as her mother was a joy, a privilege and a treasure she will never stop thanking God for. “I had one of the greatest mothers of all time. She was the kindest, warmest and nicest mother.” She recalls wonderful memories with her mother sitting at the kitchen table talking for hours, going shopping at the Nashua Mall and getting ice cream at Friendly’s.

Sally was an incredible amazing cook. Her family is convinced her spaghetti sauce was the best in the world! Everyone loved her meatballs, cutlets, and many other Italian delicacies. She loved her family tremendously and was a devoted wife, mother and grandmother. She was hospitable, caring and generous and had wonderful ability to relate to people.

She loved spending time with her grandchildren, Amber and Brandon, affectionately nicknamed Sammy. Each week, they would go to story time at the Nashua Public Library and then out to lunch. In summers, Sally and Joe would put up a swimming pool so the grandchildren could come over and swim. The grandchildren recall many happy summer days swimming at Grandma’s and enjoying great Italian meals. Sally loved being a grandmother and spending time with the grandchildren was very important to her.

Other than her family, the most important part of Sarah’s life was her faith and devotion to Jehovah God. She was a member of the Hollis congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses for

more than 50 years. She loved conducting Bible studies and talking about Jehovah God and His wonderful promises for the future. She and Joe would often go in the field ministry together helping anyone they met. Sarah spoke often about the hope of a New World where sickness and death would be gone, and God will end the suffering on earth. Her family looks forward to the day when she will be resurrected and reunited with them again.

In 2005, she developed dementia, but despite suffering with this disease, she wanted people to feel happy and would tell them how beautiful they were or looked. She made many friends wherever she went, and enjoyed sharing kind positive words, seeing everyone she met as “beautiful” and “special” and in return people felt the same way about her. She maintained the ability to read aloud, as she and Joe read the Bible together each day. She always kept her wonderful sense of humor.

She leaves behind her beloved and adored husband Joseph Fuoco of Nashua, her daughter, Paula (Fuoco Davis) Hillyard, of Nashua, her son-in-law Kevin Hillyard, her grandchildren, Amber Davis Johnson, of Portland Oregon and her partner Skylar Johnson, and her grandson, Brandon (Sammy) Davis of Pelham and his wife Megan. She was predeceased by her beloved son-in-law Christopher Davis, and her sister, Sandra Geraci, of Schenectady, New York. She also leaves behind her brother, Charlie Arcidiacono and his wife Rose, along with many nieces and nephews.

A wake will be held Thursday, September 24, from 4 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the FARWELL FUNERAL HOME, 18 Lock Street, Nashua, NH 03064. The funeral service will be held Friday, September 25, at 1 p.m. at the Hollis Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 282 Broad Street, Hollis, NH 03049. To leave an online message of condolence, please visit www.farwellfuneralservice.com