Manuel Fornasier

Kernersville, NC-Manuel Angelo Fornasier, 86, passed away on March 9, 2014. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held 10:00AM Friday, March 14, 2014 at Holy Cross Catholic Church with Father Paul Dechant, O.S.F.S. officiating. A reception will be held immediately afterwards at Salesian Hall at Holy Cross Church. Manuel will be inurned 4:00PM Friday at St Leo Catholic Church in Winston-Salem. Manuel was born in Treviso, Italy, September 19, 1927. At age 3, he and his parents moved to Havana, Cuba where his grandfather had started a business. While pursuing his studies at the University of Havana, Manuel worked at the family business and tended his father's farm on the weekends. Manuel was married to the late Guillermina "Rubia" DeSoto on September 12, 1950 and they were married for 64 years. During the 1950s, as a junior partner at Luis Mion S.A., the premier Cuban terrazzo floor manufacturing company of its time, he was an innovator. Manuel devised an ingenious grand entry floor to the famous Tropicana Club and Casino made of crushed glass embedded in a pitch-black base that shimmered and flashed as you walked on it. In 1960 he moved his family to the United States to escape Communism and the tyranny of the Castro Regime. After a failed attempt as a partner in a restaurant venture in Miami Florida, Manuel moved his family to Winston-Salem in 1962. In Winston-Salem he worked for a terrazzo floor company and the Stroh's Brewery Company. Manuel was a dedicated parishioner at St Leo's Catholic Church and Holy Cross Catholic Church.In addition to his wife Guillermina, he also was preceded in death by a daughter Maria Eugenia Smith. He is survived by his children Elly, Manuel Jr. and Antonio (Cori), son-in law Darian Lance Smith; grandchildren Christian, Darian Justin Smith, Maria Genevieve Pitchford, Antonio Jr., Brandon, Joseph and Christopher; great-grandchildren Rebecca, Helena, and Dawn Pitchford. A Wake Service will be held 7:00 p.m. Thursday at Pierce-Jefferson Funeral & Cremation Service, and the family will visit with friends following the service. In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be given to Holy Cross Catholic Church, 616 S. Cherry Street, Kernersville, NC, 27284, and/or Hospice & Palliative Care Center, 101 Hospice Lane, Winston-Salem, NC, 27103. The family of Manuel Fornasier Sr. wishes to thank the wonderful caregivers at Kerner Ridge Assisted Living in Kernersville and Hospice & Palliative Care Center of Winston-Salem for their devotion and untiring support of Manuel's physical and emotional needs. The family would also like to extend their heartfelt gratitude to Holy Cross Catholic Church and St Leo Catholic Church for many years of spiritual enrichment. Friends and family may sign, and view the guestbook at www.Pierce-JeffersonFuneralService.com Service Information