Sarino Lucarelli, a life between work and family. He will be missed by all Bitonto residents – BitontoLive.it

A life spent between the funeral business and that of florist, in the premises at the crossroads between via Matteotti, piazza Moro and piazza Cavour. Sarino Lucarelli, a constant and discreet presence with a smile barely visible behind his moustache, passed away in silence a week ago. The illness discovered at Easter, the extreme treatment and the embrace of the family, the farewell. He would have turned eighty on October 5th. He lived sixty by working night and day, without ever taking a holiday. Absolute dedication to his activity inherited from his grandfather Baldassarre whose name he bore, and from his father Giovanni. For all collaborators, the imperative of composure: «We enter the homes of mourners and respect must be shown».

Beyond work, for Sarino Lucarelli there was only family. His trips by car, in addition to the journey home to the shop, were limited to the Terlizzi flower market and the beach house in Santo Spirito. Humble and sober, he has never chased appearances. No expensive cars, watches or designer accessories for himself, but everything for his four children – Giovanni, Antonio, Gaetano and Carmela – and his beloved eight grandchildren. His “children”, the ones he cared about giving Easter eggs to, so much so that he insisted on leaving the hospital after the stroke that took him to the emergency room. He had an iron will and control even in dealing with the illness, until the last days, those of prayer to the Madonna, «Mama Maria».

His only passion, in addition to plants for which he had an incredible green thumb, were animals. His old dog George continues to wait for Sarino to return to the home garden, where he spent hours taking care of flowers and plants. His Eden populated with dogs, cats, canaries, lapwings, chickens, turkeys, rabbits… Animals that she raised and loved to give to loved ones, as well as plants. To the monastery of the Virgins he gave gifts of hydrangeas and orchids, the favorite flowers of Mother Maria Carmela who allowed him to enter the convent. Everyone remembers him as a gentleman, a good and generous person. And this is the greatest consolation for his children and his wife Mina, with whom he shared 54 years of marriage.

Sarino was just twenty years old when his father Giovanni opened a small flower shop for him in via Matteotti, a few meters from the funeral home. It was the first flower shop in Bitonto. The inauguration took place on a holiday and all the goods were sold. Sarino went to his father with the proceeds. «It’s your money, you decide if you want to spend it or buy other goods», he was told. So he started the florist business together with his younger brother, Nicola. There was a special bond between them, they lived in symbiosis and compensated each other. Nicola was the creative one, he made bows and harps with cut flowers, with which he embellished the floral decorations for weddings and other occasions. There was another brother, Gaetano, an electrician. The passion for electrical systems is also a trademark of the Lucarelli family. Baldassarre, Sarino’s grandfather, was responsible for the famous “machine”: the spectacular construction that illuminated Porta Baresana on the occasion of the patronal feast in honor of the Immaculate Conception.

1988 is the annus horribilis that marked Sarino forever, taking away his brother Nicola and his father within two months. A terrible blow that led him to withdraw into himself and throw himself headlong into work. A name to honour, that of the Lucarellis, two shops to carry on, the weight of a family legacy born with horse-drawn carriages and continued with the first hearses purchased in the sixties, the responsibility of following the growth of the three granddaughters left orphaned.

«It consoles me to think that dad has finally found his much loved brother», says Giovanni, Sarino’s eldest son, who runs the family business together with his brothers. Hanging on the wall behind his desk are photos of those who are no longer with us: great-grandfather Baldassarre, grandfather Giovanni, uncle Nicola. Soon another will be added, that of Father Sarino, who will continue to watch over them.