Basil Santamaria Obituary

It is with profound sadness that the family of Basil “Al” SantaMaria announce his peaceful passing on February 5th, 2022 at the age of 81 years. Al was born to Constance and Anthony in Corona, Queens in NY. He graduated from La Salle Academy in 1958 and went on to study at Fordham University.

He entered the US Army in 1961 to be stationed in Germany while he assembled and launched missiles during the Vietnam War. He was honorably discharged as a squad leader and sharpshooter in 1965. Al married his childhood sweetheart, Lucille, at St. Sylvester’s Church on June 8th, 1963.

Al opened an industrial heating business in NY that he ran for many years before moving to FL where he owned and operated an apartment building. He was a pillar in his community and actively supported many organizations including Shriners Hospital for Children, St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, Moffitt Cancer Center, and Southeastern Guide Dogs. Al will be lovingly remembered by his wife of 58 years, Lucille; daughters: Dawn and Julie; granddaughters: Gabriella and Gwenyth; as well as numerous relatives and friends.

Visitation will be held on Sunday, February 13th from 4-7 pm, at Curlew Hills Funeral Home, 1750 Curlew Rd, Palm Harbor, FL. A funeral Mass will be held on Monday, February 14th at 10 am, at Espiritu Santo Catholic Church, 2405 Philippe Pkwy, Safety Harbor, FL. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in Basil’s name may be made to one of the charities mentioned above.

Services will be live streamed from Espiritu Santo Catholic Church at https://vimeo.com ; and the visitation will be live streamed from Curlew Hills Funeral Home and can be viewed at https://view.oneroomstreaming.com