1931 – 2015

LEWISTON — Francis “Frank” Bruno of Auburn passed away at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center on Monday, Jan. 26, with his family by his side.

He was a native of Long Island, N.Y., born Oct. 4, 1931, to Nicola and Flora Bello Bruno.

Frank was an iron worker by trade and was employed by several small companies, before landing a position at the Long Island Railroad, where he worked for 20 years. While with the railroad, he routinely tackled the “impossible” repairs, even rebuilding locomotive engines destined for the scrap heap.

Frank retired from the railroad and came to Maine to enjoy hunting, fishing, tinkering and innovating.

He was an Italian through and through, embracing the philosophy of “we live to eat, not eat to live.” Every member of his family knew that “mangia, mangia” meant “eat, eat.” It was Frank’s favorite saying.

He was a husband, father, grandfather and brother. He is survived by his wife of almost 61 years, Mary Bruno; his children, Nicholas Bruno and his wife of Turner, Nancy Grant and her husband of Victoria, Australia, and Tina and her husband of Long Island, N.Y.; his grandchildren, Francis B. Bruno of Turner and Patrick Grant and Liam Grant of Victoria, Australia; and his sisters, Tina Cusano and family of Florida and Anne Occhipinti and her husband and family of Long Island, N.Y.

The family wishes to thank Dr. Gregory Thibodeau of Central Maine Medical Center’s Family Practice Residency Program, for his attentive and compassionate care of Frank and his family. Dr. Thibodeau routinely exemplified the values of family medicine by caring for the entire family from his heart.