Arturo “Art” George Santoni, 91, passed away on December 9th, 2020 in Community General Osteopathic Hospital after a short illness. The youngest child of Guido Santoni and Arminda Balsamini, Art was born on July 23rd, 1929 (he heard the crash!). He was born and raised in Rutherford and lived there until his marriage to Mary Elise Brown. He was a faithful member of Saint Margaret Mary Church.
Art was a graduate of Swatara High School and a veteran of the Korean War. He never missed a memorial service at the Santoni/Dinnini VFW. After his military career, he had over 40 years of dedicated service to the Reading Railroad and then Conrail, working the night shift. In addition to his work on the railroad, Art worked as a school bus driver for Saint Margaret Mary, Holy Name of Jesus, and Bishop McDevitt schools. His family routinely encounters those who have fond memories of him driving them to school. He was a pinochle card player as well as an avid bowler, having rolled a perfect 300 game in 1962. He and Mary Elise played in various bowling leagues in the Harrisburg area. Art was an avid sports fan – his favorite teams being the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Philadelphia Phillies, and the Bishop McDevitt Crusaders. McDevitt never had a bigger fan!
He was most proud of his family. One of his favorite activities was watching his children’s (and later, his grandchildren’s) sporting events, often volunteering to coach. In addition to playing and coaching baseball, Art’s favorite pastime was watching the ponies run at Penn National!
Art always had a smile on his face and anyone who spoke with him went away happier after the encounter. After Mary Elise’s passing, he spent nearly 20 years in assisted living. He spent most of those years at Ecumenical Community in Harrisburg, where he became an “Ambassador” for the home he loved, always welcoming new residents. His favorite activities were making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the Saint Francis Soup Kitchen and tending his tomato garden.
Although Art experienced a significant number of tragedies in his life, he was still able to maintain a joyous perspective about life, becoming a devoted husband and father to 6 children, 24 grandchildren, and 13 great grandchildren (with 2 on the way). His family will miss him dearly – especially his stories, (usually told from end to beginning!).
He was predeceased by his wife Mary Elise. He is survived by his 4 loving daughters, Anne Marie Cordaro (Stephen), Susan Germak (Thomas), Elise Knaby (Donald), Adele Novak (Richard), and 2 devoted sons, Joseph (Janice) and Thomas (Karin).
The family would like to thank the staff at Ecumenical for their kind and compassionate care over these many years. In lieu of flowers, please send memorial contributions to Saint Margaret Mary Church and/or Bishop McDevitt High School.
A viewing will be held Friday, December 18th, 2020 from 6:00-8:00 PM at Neill Funeral Home in Harrisburg. Due to Covid restrictions, the Funeral Mass on Saturday, December 19th, 2020 at 11:00 AM will be held for family only.
