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Antonette Marchitelli Poulos
December 14, 1935-May 20, 2021
Poulos obit pic
Antonette Lucia Marchitelli Poulos was born on December 14,1935 in Manteca, California. Her father,  Frank Marchitelli immigrated from Putignano, Italy and her mother, Cristina Alfieri from Santo Stefano Quisquina, Sicily.
   Antonette attended LIndberg, Lincoln, and Manteca High Schools. She graduated from UC Berkeley in 1957 with a degree in Art. She was a member of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority where she met many of her lifelong friends.   After graduating from Berkeley, Antonette moved to Rome, Italy where she worked for the Fulbright Commission. While in Italy she connected with her father's family in Putignano, Italy.  She remained very close with her family there and those relationships have now spanned three generations. When she returned from Italy she moved to San Francisco and opened an art gallery with friends and later worked in advertising.
During a visit to Manteca in 1960, Antonette stopped by the Manteca Drug Store to buy lipstick. She left with lipstick and a date with her future husband Ted Poulos. Ted and Antonette were married in November of 1961 and spent fifty-five years together. Antonette was an accomplished artist who loved to paint. She made it her life's work to expose her family and everyone around her to the arts. She also loved to travel and planned wonderful trips for her family.  She was even able to get Ted "out of Manteca" for dinners in SF and trips overseas.
   Antonette is survived by her daughters, Elisa Poulos (Michael Fox) , Alexia Stormo (Owen), and three grandchildren, Noah Fox, Jackson Stormo, and Marina Fox. She is also survived by her sister Mary's daughter Chris Leach (Jim) and her grand nephew Ross Whitton (Kate), as well as several close cousins.  Antonette was incredibly proud of her grandchildren and consistently reminded them of their strong immigrant roots. She would tell them that when she was having  a difficult time, she would think of her eighteen year old mother who was tasked with taking care of ten siblings and cousins when her mother and aunt died in the 1918 flu pandemic.
   Antonette was great about sharing wisdom  with her grandchildren. Some of her favorite sayings were: "You've got no kicks coming," "Having a sense of humor will get you through just about anything," and "Don't forget to look at the sky!"
   Antonette would like it if her memory was honored by reading a good book, painting a picture, listening to beautiful music, planting a garden, and staying curious about the world around us....all to feed our souls.

Manteca (Calif.) Bulletin

Thursday, June 17, 2021