Remembering the ‘mayor of Corona del Mar’

As I sit here at this moment after hearing the news, the tears run

down my face. Phil Sansone was one of the people I loved most in the

world. We spent so many hours working together on activities related

to Corona del Mar and the city of Newport Beach. I found him to be a

treasure, not only in terms of his knowledge but also his ability to

relate to people and to get things done in a spirit of teamwork.

When his dear Nadine passed away, and my divorce was imminent, we

spent many evenings together talking about restructuring our lives.

He was a source of inspiration and strength to me. I told him so

often that I would be over to visit him in Hawaii and never made it

-- which was a big mistake.

I know this is a tremendous loss for his family, but also for the

rest of us who loved him.

My prayer is that he has gone to a peaceful, restful and wonderful

place to prepare for the rest of us. If God has any issues that need

to be resolved, I’m sure Phil will be able to help him work them out

to everyone’s benefit.

JOY BRENNER

Benefactor Program Manager

Hoag Hospital Foundation

In September 1990, Mayor Phil Sansone closed a City Council

meeting with a tribute to my father, Joseph Carolan, who had recently

died. My father was the crossing guard for the Newport Beach Police

Department at Mariners Elementary School for 24 years. This was a

class act from a person of class. It was not until I read of Phil’s

passing that I realized that I had more in common with him, since

both of us were alumni of Clarkson University in Potsdam, NY.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

ROBERT CAROLAN

Newport Beach

As a young man, I had the good fortune to live next door to Phil

and Nadine Sansone. Their warmth, kindness and generosity shone

through from first day that I met them. Chatting in the alleyway,

being invited over for one of Nadine’s chicken cacciatore dinners,

long discussions on the nature of government, politics and public

service ... there are so many great memories.

Best of all, if I ever wanted a straight answer to a question, I

knew Phil was right next door.

NORMAN L. BEBERMAN

Corona del Mar

While we supported and admired Phil Sansone as a Newport Beach

city councilman, we didn’t get to know him very well until 1993. We

knew that Phil was getting interested in genealogy, and he was aware

that we had a love affair with Italy, particularly Sicily, where we

traveled quite often.

So on one occasion, when we were getting ready to take off another

trip, he asked if we’d heard of the town Termini Imerese (a town of

historic Greek origin) in Sicily, and we said we had, and that we

expected to be passing near there. He asked, if it wouldn’t be too

much trouble, would we stop there and see if we could find anything

out about the Sansone family, because this is where they originated.

So we did go to Termini Imerese and to the town hall. In walking

around the records department, we noticed a nameplate on a door, G.

Sansone. So we went in and met Mr. Sansone and told him about our

friend, Filipo Sansone in America. (My husband speaks Italian fairly

well.) We were given information on the Sansone family and directed

to the family plot in the local cemetery. We took photos of Mr.

Sansone and the monuments in the family plot.

Upon our return home we provided Phil with the information and the

photos. After he moved to Hawaii, we received an e-mail from Phil:

“Guess what! That guy that you photographed in Sicily is really a

cousin of mine. I’ve been talking to distant cousins in Chicago, and

after I sent them the photo they confirmed it.”

It was really a privilege to have know Phil Sansone.

RON AND NOVELL HENDRICKSON

Newport Beach