On February 24th, 2023, Fausta Lucille Milan, 87, died peacefully, surrounded by her children and her sister, and loved and prayed for by too many people to recount.
Fausta was born in the Bronx, New York on July 8, 1935. She was the daughter of James DeStefano and Anna (Respo) DeStefano, the step-daughter of Anna (Paliotta) DeStefano and the sister of James (“Jimmy”) DeStefano and Lucille (DeStefano) Vaccaro. She spent the first part of her adult life in New York, marrying Edgar J Milan, and having 3 children, James Richard Milan, Steven Anthony Milan and Tracy Milan.
In 1969, Fausta and her family began an 8-year journey which had them living in Peru, Nicaragua, Texas and London, before settling in Calgary, Canada, where Fausta would remain for the next 43 years. She developed deep, lifelong friendships that sustained her and enriched her life beyond measure.
Throughout her life, Fausta used her distinctive name as both a calling card to initiate conversations with strangers and a way to quickly reconnect with friends she’d lost touch with. But it was her personality - vibrant, engaging, and disarming - and her warm and full-bodied laugh that made her memorable to all who were fortunate enough to know her.
Fausta had more friends than most of us have acquaintances. And she would call each of those friends with such unfailing consistency on every birthday, anniversary or otherwise significant date in their lives that, in later years when dementia kept her from doing so, people would reach out to find out if she was alright because they hadn’t heard from her on their special day. The dementia may have taken away her magical memory, but didn’t affect her ability to find joy in the present moment.
Fausta was a devout Catholic who served as a reader and eucharistic minister in various parishes in Calgary. She was a consistent and supportive presence at funerals for people she knew, and also for strangers who were important to people she cared about. So many funerals, in fact, that the prayer cards she had gathered, when stacked, would come up to her waist. She would provide a listening ear, unflagging faith, and a loving hug to people as they grieved the loss of their loved one.
Fausta is survived by her three children, four grandchildren, sister and brother-in-law, sister-in-law and eight nieces and nephews. She will be greatly missed by Richard Hertert, her close friend of 42 years.
Fausta greeted everyone she loved with arms outstretched and a wide, joyful smile on her face. We have no doubt that she has been met with as much love and joy.
May all of us who have received her love be inspired to pass it on to friends and strangers alike.
In the spirit of Fausta, in lieu of donations, please give a fully embodied, heart-full hug to someone who needs it, and then do it again, and again…
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