John B Dal Santo

Giovanni Battista Dal Santo, known to many as the patriarch of Little Italy, Ark., died Saturday, March 30, just a day after turning 99 years old. He made it a point to enjoy one more birthday surrounded by his loving wife of 77 years, Olga, and his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Always the consummate storyteller, John has shared his immigration story from Italy to Arkansas with many. He was born in Caltrano, Italy, on March 29, 1920, and immigrated to the United States when he was 10 years old to escape Mussolini’s dictatorship and the fate of joining the youth organization Balilla. Once in America, he left Chicago at age 19 to travel, making a life-changing stop in Arkansas, where he met a young Olga Vaccari.

The meeting was telling of their extraordinary relationship and love for one another. When they met in 1941 in the small community of Little Italy, Ark., John remembers trying to impress Olga with his city-slicker knowledge: “You know, we’ve got a dance hall,” he said, not knowing Olga’s parents owned a honky-tonk across the street. And she said, “Well, we have one, too! You want to go over there?” The couple married in October 1942 and spent the next 77 years together, dancing and sipping wine, offering an amazing example of marriage for all who know them.

Shortly after their wedding, John was drafted to serve in the European Theater in World War II, where he was the only one of his group to survive a German hit on his tank. He earned several medals for valor, including the Purple Heart. Once home, John and Olga raised two daughters, Sandy and Alice. He was a career firefighter, serving as a Captain with the Little Rock Fire Department until his retirement.

John was known for many things, namely the fact that he never met a stranger and that he could weave a story like none other. He and Olga perfected the recipes for sausage, spaghetti and sauce still used today at the infamous Little Italy Spaghetti Supper held each October in Arkansas. John was known for his generosity and his love of all things Italian, including his favorite Carlo Rossi Paisano wine. He loved being a Nonno to his four grandchildren and spoiling the great grandchildren with $10 bills from Bisnonno. He even learned how to Skype late in life in order to talk to relatives in Italy.

John is preceded in death by his parents, Giacomo and Santina, and his son-in-law, Joseph Ghidotti. He is survived by his wife, Olga; his daughters, Santina Ghidotti Hogue and Alice Ostie; his sons-in-law, Johnnie Ostie and Ronald Hogue; his grandchildren, Nicole and Geoff Rhinehart, John and April Ostie, Jason and Natalie Ghidotti and Jana and Chris Harral; and his great grandchildren, Mary and Nicolas Rhinehart, John, Evan, Rosie and Giovanni Ostie, Nathan and Corinne Ghidotti, and Logan, Max and Ben Harral.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, April 5 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Little Italy, Ark. with Father Richard Davis, Celebrant. Visitation will be 6 p.m. until 7 p.m. Thursday, April 4, 2019 at Griffin Leggett Healey & Roth, 5800 W. 12th Street, Little Rock (501) 661-9111 followed by a Rosary service at 7 p.m. Donations may be sent in John Dal Santo’s honor to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, a cause the Dal Santos have supported for many years, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105. To sign the online guestbook, click “Add a Memory” at: www.griffinleggetthealeyroth.com