This letter was sent to the Fordham Prep Engagement, Development & Communications Office by the Franchi family, thanking Assistant to the Vice-President Larry Curran’ 77 for his time at the Prep and relating a story about the late Nunzio Franchi’ 45.
Dear Mr. Curran,
Please find enclosed a donation to the Prep that I would like to make in memory of my grandfather, Nunzio " Popa " Franchi. I am sending the donation directly to you along with this letter because I want to also share with you the ways that you have strengthened his connection to the Prep and made him proud throughout the years.
As we laid Popa down to rest in early November, he wore a white suit jacket and a maroon Fordham Prep insignia bowtie, which you so graciously provided for him. Anyhow, as I looked at this man I admired so much throughout his life, I couldn’ t help but realize that his attire was reminiscent of the Prep graduation attire. It got me to thinking about how much the Prep meant to him, how proud he was to call himself a Ram and what an influential part you played in truly making him feel a part of the Fordham Family.
Class Notes
As you are aware, Popa attended Fordham Prep in the old Hughes Hall back in the 1940 ' s and would have been part of the graduating class of 1945. However, he left school early in his junior year to join the Marines and defend our country in World War II. That sacrifice truly amazes me. Popa was the youngest of 5 siblings and the first to be born in the United States after his parents emigrated from Italy to escape the rule of Mussolini. I mention this to you because, while Fordham Prep certainly signifies a top quality education and a growth in faith, scholarship and service to all of us who have been lucky enough to walk those halls, to my grandfather back in the 1940 ' s it also meant opportunity. It was the opportunity to be the first in his family to get such a quality education and to achieve the American dream that his parents wanted when they came here. And yet, despite all the opportunity this presented for him as a young man, he decided that, for him, service to his country was a higher calling than scholarship or his own well-being.
Upon Popa ' s honorable discharge from the Marines, he did not finish his education at the Prep, but instead got a job as a carpenter, a trade he learned while in the Marines.
Popa went on to be a custodial engineer for the NYC Board of Education for 40 years and raised a family of 4 children, 13 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren. Even with all of these prideful life experiences, it was a special night in 1996 that Nunzio " Popa " Franchi got to be honored and truly feel the pride of being a Fordham Prep graduate. That night, his continued love for Fordham Prep was made possible because of YOU!!! When my brother Christopher and I graduated from the Prep in 1996, you were influential in getting Popa an honorary degree based on his time at the Prep in the 1940s. This allowed him to sit on stage and give my brother and me our Fordham Prep diplomas. The smile on Popa ' s face that day as he walked through the crowd in his cap and gown and sat on that stage is an image that has stuck in my mind and heart. However, as memorable as that night was, it was a picture that I found while going through his things recently that I think sums up my Popa ' s journey and his pride in Fordham Prep. Unbeknownst to me, Popa snuck out after the graduation ceremony without returning his cap and gown. Instead he jumped in the car and drove to see his 98 year old mother at a nursing home in New Rochelle in full graduation garb. He wanted to show his Mom, my great-grandmother, that he had done it. HE GRADUATED FROM FORDHAM PREP!!! I guess even as a 70 year old man, making Mom proud still rates high on your list. Shortly after the three of us graduated together that May night in 1996, my Dad bought Popa a 1945 class ring. When he opened the gift and realized what it was, it was the first time I ever saw my grandfather cry. From then on, he would show off that ring and talk about the Prep and his five grandsons who would end up following in his footsteps as Men for Others.
Mr. Curran, I share this all with you, along with this humble gift, because you were a big reason he was able to experience all of these proud moments.
Our most sincere thanks, The Franchi Family
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