Funeral Mass for Mack Fratesi, 84, of Leland will be at 11:00 a.m., Wednesday, May 6, 2015 at St. James Catholic Church, Leland. He died Saturday, May 2, 2015 at University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson. Burial will be in St. Isadore Cemetery, Lake Village, AR.
Mack was born June 23, 1930, in Tribbett, MS, to Sam and Catie Fratesi. The family eventually moved to Cleveland where he attended Bolivar County Schools. After moving back to Leland, Mack attended Leland School and became a member of St. James Catholic Church, where he was a faithful member all his life. He worked as a young boy for Shapley’s Grocery, and then later worked for the Shapley family at Shapley Lumber Company. He began working at Sabbatini and Sons in 1974, and did not retire until January of 2014. He served for 2 years in the Korean War. He belonged to the Knights of Columbus for many years, and was chosen as Knight of the Year in 1993. He served as a member of the St. James Church Parish Council for multiple terms. Fratesi also served on the board of St. Joseph Catholic School for 2 terms, and drove the school bus for over 10 years.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Sam and Catie Fratesi, 3 brothers, Sammy, Paul, and Charles Fratesi, 1 sister, Mary Rose Fratesi, and his daughter, Regina Fratesi Sampolesi.
He is survived by his wife of 60 years: Ollie “Hun-Bun” Burns Fratesi, 2 sisters: Gloria Sullivan and Viola (Tom) Butler, 3 daughters: Rhonda (Jerry) Sanders, Robin (Gary) Sistrunk, and Reagan (Wade) Turner, 1 son-in-law: Ned Sampolesi, 1 “adopted” son: Mike Sabbatini, 10 grandchildren: Zach and Garrett Sanders, Rachel Sistrunk Powell and Russell Sistrunk, Courtney, Catie, Chance and Laura Turner, Savannah and Sam Sampolesi, and a host of cousins, nieces, nephews, and in-laws who loved him dearly.
The first visitation will be at 5:00 p.m., Tuesday, May 5, 2015 at St. James Catholic Church, Leland with a Rosary at 7:00 p.m. The second visitation will be at 9:30 a.m., Wednesday, May 6, 2015 at St. James Catholic Church, Leland.