Jack (John) Tudisco of Seaford, died Saturday, March 5, 2005. Beloved husband of Santa, devoted father of Jerry of Garden City and John and Joseph of Massapequa; dear brother of Frank, Joseph and Ross; and cherished grandfather of Matthew, Michael, Emily, John, Alexandria and Sara.

Jack Tudisco emigrated from Sicily at the age of 18 with one of his brothers to find opportunity. Limitations of the influx of immigrants to the US forced him to go to Canada first. He worked on various jobs and eventually learned how to sell kitchenware door-to-door in Canada. He quickly became the company's top salesperson. He met his future wife, Santa, when visiting his mother and father in Brooklyn, who subsequently were able to immigrate to the US. Mr. Tudisco became a US citizen and married in 1957. He and his wife had three children, Joe, Jerry and John.

Mr. Tudisco, an entrepreneur at heart, owned and operated various restaurants and food establishments in Brooklyn, with his brothers, in the 60s and early 70s. Changing demographics eventually closed those businesses. They moved to Valley Stream and resided there for 34 years. As a visionary and one who always adored the ceramic tile produced in his homeland, in 1974 he imported one truckload of ceramic tile from a town called Fiorano, Italy, (hence the name Fiorano Tile Imports, Inc.). He placed an advertisement on a Long Island radio station that produced a Sunday afternoon radio show, featuring Italian music. Mr. Tudisco listed his home phone number in the ad, and "within seconds, our first phone call came in" said his wife, and the new company secretary, Santa, "I made an appointment for my husband to meet the potential customer that same night."

Mr. Tudisco's oldest son Joe put his handyman skills to work and built a special wood suitcase that could hold the dozen samples of tiles his father had to offer and put wheels on it to make it easier to maneuver. As the business grew, they moved the inventory from a two-car garage and rented a showroom and warehouse in Elmont. They eventually outgrew that Elmont Road location and built a new showroom and warehouse on Hempstead Turnpike called Fiorano Design Center, also in Elmont. The Fiorano group of companies (Fiorano Design Center, Fiorano Tile of Williston Park, FTI Distributors and Artistone Tile) now sell products locally and also throughout the United States. They employ over 40 people. Mr. Tudisco is well-known as a pioneer in the commerce of bringing quality Italian to the US market. The companies he started, situated in Elmont, West Hempstead and Williston Park, have been run and operated by his three sons since his retirement seven years ago.

A Funeral Mass was held at St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Massapequa; interment followed at St. Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale.