Elda Santia

She was born on April 18th, 1932, to Cataldo and Antonia Tomei in the small town of Supino, Italy, located roughly 45 miles southeast of Rome. She immigrated to the United States in 1948 after WWII. Soon thereafter, Elda met the love of her life, Antonio who was also from her home town in Italy. They were married and started their life together living in Detroit, Michigan. Elda and Tony had 3 children…Joanne, Rosemarie (Rosie) and Perry.

In 1963, Elda and Tony moved their family to Southern California where they opened their very own Restaurant in Ontario named Antonio’s. In a short time, Sidney and Diego Santia and their spouses Lia and Helene became family business partners. Elda was the ultimate hostess. She would always greet customers by name and everyone knew her. Her expertise of making homemade Italian dishes was enjoyed by many. She and Tony retired after 36 years.

Her favorite thing to do was to cook for everyone at her home. She enjoyed entertaining and cooking for any size occasion and always made it look easy. Her most beloved dishes were her homemade lasagna, gnocchi and pasta. At any given time, one could find her baking Italian cookies which were then given out as gifts to family and friends.

She loved spending time traveling with her family and “paisans” on many cruise ships (23) and traveled the world. She made numerous photo albums and loved sharing her many trips with others.

She also had a heart for Italian music. She loved to sing and wasn’t shy about holding the stage with her versions of songs any time a group of people were around.

Upon retirement, she found a new passion...golf. The highlight of her golf career was playing Pebble Beach where she shot an impressive 119. She also joined the Upland Hills Women’s golf club where she enjoyed the tournaments, the luncheons and became the social chairperson.

She continued to be the ultimate hostess by having many holiday dinners and special occasions at her home until the age of 89.

During her later years, she resided at Ivy Park Assisted Living and because of her friendly demeanor and smile, they gave her the role of “Ambassador”. She prided herself in convincing people to come to Ivy Park because she loved it so much. She made all her caregivers feel like they were family. Her constant smile was so contagious.

She is survived by her daughter Joanne Mangiagli, her son Perry Santia and wife, Judy. She will be dearly missed by her 8 grandchildren (5 spouses) and 6 great grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband Antonio (married 73 years), her daughter Rosie, her five brothers (Rocco, Pierino, Nicola, Angelo and Dario) and son-in-law, John Mangiagli.

Her strength, her immense love and the incredible memories she has given us will remain strong in our hearts Forever & Always.

Funeral arrangements will be held at 10 am, January 13th at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church, Upland CA. She will be missed but will always be in our hearts.