Hoboken Remembers 'One Of Us'

Hoboken remembered its favorite son Monday with a memorial service attended by 800 people at the Church of St. Francis.

New Jersey-born Frank Sinatra, who died Thursday at a Los Angeles hospital, was eulogized as "family" in the church where he baptized 82 years ago.

The Rev. Michael Guglielmelli, delivering the homily during Mass, declared that Sinatra "was Hoboken. He was one of us...his family was like our family."

The Mass was one of several services held across the country in recent days. Sinatra's funeral is private, so devoted fans on both coasts are doing it their way by organizing their own services. The largest of the gatherings were in Hoboken Monday night and in Palm Springs Sunday night.

Since "the Chairman of the Board" died of a heart attack last Thursday, Hoboken has been inundated by grieving fans and media, visiting all of Sinatra's old haunts.

"Today we celebrate Frank Sinatra,". Father Guglielmelli said from the altar of St. Francis, where a close-up portrait of the singer stood to the side. "We celebrate him. And we do. He was unique. He was a gift.

"And to think that he came from this little church, these little walls, this church that was built by the blood of immigrants. By the blood of Northern Italians who made their money selling raviolis every Sunday, 'til they made enough to build this church. And that's what they did."

All through the weekend, people have been dropping flowers, cards and mementos at his Sinatra's Hoboken birthplace.

The house on Monroe Street burned in 1967, leaving only a brick wall and arch. In 1996, the city placed a bronze star on the sidewalk paying homage to "The Voice."

On Sunday, it was standing-room only at a public Mass and memorial held by the Dolly Sinatra Lodge of the Sons of Italy in Palm Springs.

During the service in Palm Springs, the Rev. Bill Faiella asked hundreds of fans what Sinatra meant to them, the answers came back in shouts: "generosity," "comfort," "humor," "warmth," "celebration."

Mary Sorrentino, founder of Sorrentino's Seafood House, a Palm Springs restaurant that Sinatra frequented, said she will always remember how he used to come in, and go into the kitchen to greet the cooks and waiters.

"I plan to put a little plaque on the stool he sat on. I think it will say 'The Voice,' but I'll let my boys choose," Sorrentino said.

The lodge, formerly known as the Palm Springs Lodge of the Sons of Italy, changed its name in 1985 with Sinatra's permission to use his mother's name.

Lodge president Ed Cucchiarella said the membership wanted to hold an event for the people. "Everything else is so private, and Sinatra was Mr. Palm Springs for 50 years," Cucchiarella said.