Memphis Italian Festival
Geno Pacini, Outstanding Italian 2010
Geno was born in Valdottavo, Italy, on April 29, 1928, the second of five children. He was married for over 56 years to the former Vera Mary Raffanti (deceased). They had three children, Gina, Michael (deceased), and Felicia; and five grandchildren, Derek, Mark, Natalie, Ellen, and Peter. After marriage and moving to the USA, he became a member of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church. For the last 48 years, he has been a member of St. Anne Catholic Church on Highland.
He worked for two Italian grocers before opening his own grocery store with Pete Andreoli. That partnership lasted over 23 years. Since 1998, he has owned The Spirits Shoppe liquor store at Poplar and Colonial where he still works part-time. The rest of his time was spent caring for his wife, who had suffered with Alzheimer’s since 1999. His beloved wife Vera died October 5, 2008.
He has been a member of the Memphis Chapter of UNICO for over 40 years and served on its board of directors. For years he sold cheese at the UNICO Wine and Cheese Festival with his son Michael. He received the Italian-American of the Year Award from UNICO in 2008. He was one of the first members of Bella Vista Country Club. He has been a member of the Knights of Columbus for over 15 years.
He has been generous through the years in his charitable giving to many organizations, including The Bishop’s Appeal, St. Anne Catholic Church, Holy Rosary Catholic Church, Madonna Circle, Subiaco Academy, Porter-Leath Children’s Center, Shelby Residential Vocational Services, Ave Maria Nursing Home, and St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.
He serves as a volunteer at Ave Maria Nursing Home. Since Vera’s death, he has continued to visit Ave Maria regularly to support their mission and to brighten the days of seniors with his smile and happy voice. In 2010, he was nominated for The Commercial Appeal Jefferson Award by Ave Maria Nursing Home.
Geno is a perfect example of a person whose family, faith, and heritage have guided him throughout his life. Come join us Saturday, June 5th at 6:30 p.m. at the Sam’s Town main stage to help present Edi Geno Pacini with the MIF Outstanding Italian award. The festival will be taking place Thursday, June 3rd from 4:00p.m.-10:30p.m., Friday, June 4th from 11:00a.m.-11:00p.m., and Saturday, June 5th from 11:00a.m.-11:00p.m.
Posted 05/16/2010
