Mrs. Betty L. Santangelo, author, educator, humanitarian and wife of the late three-term US Congressman Alfred E. Santangelo (D-NY), passed away in Manhasset on March 15, 1998 at the age of 80.

Mrs. Santangelo had just completed a 200-page, heavily illustrated work Lucky Corner: The Biography of Congressman Alfred E. Santangelo and the Rise of Italian-Americans in Politics, which will be published this fall by the Center for Migration Studies. The book chronicles the early years of Italian-American political activism from the 1920s to the 1970s -- providing colorful vignettes of historic figures from NYC Police Commissioner Teddy Roosevelt and Governor Alfred E. Smith to President John F. Kennedy. Congressman Santangelo represented the 18th Congressional District of Manhattan during the 1950s and 1960s -- after serving four terms in the New York State Senate.

According to Geraldine Ferraro, a longtime family friend, "Betty will be remembered for her dedication to education, her love of family, and her devotion to her beloved husband, Freddy, who handled legal matters for a young widow from the Bronx, my mother. Her pride in all things Italian was a delight to see."

Listed in the Who's Who of prominent Italian-Americans in the United States, Mrs. Santangelo served as an officer or board member of many charities, including the Enrico Fermi Library, the Providence Rest Nursing Home and the Italian Big Sisters. She was vice president of the Italian Heritage and Culture Committee of the Bronx and Westchester, and was a member of the Federation of Italian American Educators (FIAME) and the National Italian American Foundation, of which her husband was a founder.

Mrs. Santangelo graduated from Teacher's College, Columbia University, in 1943, taught at Benjamin Franklin High School and was an educational administrator at New Rochelle College.

She is survived by five children, Mary Jo Nocero of Orlando, FL; Eileen Hult of Milwaukee, WI; Betty J. Santangelo of Manhasset; Patricia A. Santangelo of New York; and Charles A. Santangelo of Washington, DC; a sister - Rose Santangelo of Harrison, NY; and seven grandchildren. Congressman Santangelo died in 1978.

A scholarship fund has been established in the names of Congressman Santangelo and Betty Santangelo at the National Italian American Foundation, based in Washington, DC, to benefit outstanding Italian-American students.