The story on the map
Scroll or select a passage to highlight its people, places, movement evidence and dated events. “Show on map” and “Show on timeline” are native links; each figure mark links back here.
Where the Lines Meet
Every family story has a place where its lines meet. In this one, the family record names Michael Facchinello as Rick Facchinello’s son and Katherine Frisby’s son. Rick’s parents, Ray and Joan Facchinello, appear in their children’s obituaries.
Ray and Joan, and the Colorado Years
Raymond Aldo “Ray” Facchinello was born in Padroni, Colorado, on 7 February 1930, the youngest son of Primo and Assunta. Joan Fleenor Facchinello was born in Evanston, Illinois, on 15 January 1934. Their lives came together in Colorado: they married in Aurora on 30 March 1951, under an Arapahoe County licence. Ray died in Littleton on 28 December 2015; Joan died in Fort Collins on 28 December 2025. Ray’s siblings were Lee, Mary and Pete.
Joan's Parents
Joan’s story leads back to Paul T. Fleenor and Emily (Symons) Fleenor, recorded as a couple. Emily died on 17 July 1975 and was buried at Littleton Cemetery. Find a Grave gives her birth as 17 September 1915, and gives Paul’s birth as 1913 and his death as 12 December 1990.
Three Siblings, Three Paths
Ray’s siblings carried the family through three different Colorado stories. Lee Facchinello Vosler, also recorded by the family as Leta, was born in Iliff on 14 December 1922 and died in Littleton on 3 May 2016. Peter Duilio “Pete” Facchinello was born in Sterling on 3 December 1925 and died on 21 March 1999; the 1950 census records him as Primo’s son, while sibling statements name Assunta as his mother. Mary Facchinello Gillen appears among Primo and Assunta’s children in her siblings’ obituaries; Find a Grave gives her birth as 13 May 1924 and her death as 3 September 2012 in Phoenix.
Primo and Assunta
Behind those children stand Primo Bernardo Facchinello and Assunta. The naturalization index places Primo’s birth in Italy on 18 October 1894; he died on 17 September 1980 and is buried in Littleton Cemetery. Assunta was born in Italy in 1904, though her birthplace and parents remain unknown. Her maiden name appears as Fantini in family records and Fantin in an obituary transcription. She died in August 1970—the interment ledger says 6 August, while one obituary transcription says the 15th—and is buried beside Primo. The 1950 census and interment ledger record them as husband and wife.
The Trail Back to Italy
The trail back to Italy is real, but it fades quickly. Obituaries of Primo’s brothers name Pietro Facchinello and Maria Battocchio as their parents, which points to them as Primo’s parents; no birth record has been read. Transcriptions remember a village as “Caussoni, Musslenti”, consistent with Casoni di Mussolente in Vicenza, but the records establish only Italy as Primo’s birthplace. Everything above Pietro is a compiled reconstruction waiting for parish records.
Crossing the Atlantic
A transcribed obituary says Primo came to the United States about 1913 and married Assunta in 1921. The paper trail becomes firmer later: his naturalization papers were filed in Jefferson County District Court in 1943–1944, and the 1950 census recorded him as a citizen.
From Sterling to Littleton
The family’s Colorado years began in Logan County: Lee in Iliff, Ray in Padroni and Pete in Sterling; Find a Grave places Mary’s birth somewhere in Colorado. At some point in the mid-1930s, the family moved from the Sterling area to Littleton. Ray’s and Lee’s obituaries say 1934; Primo’s says 1936, so the exact move remains inferred. On 1 April 1950, the census found Primo, Assunta, Pete and Raymond together in an Arapahoe County farm household. Later, Littleton became the family’s place of memory: Ray died there in 2015, Lee in 2016, and Primo, Assunta and Emily Fleenor were buried at Littleton Cemetery.