The Supreme Lodge is saddened to announce the passing of a valued and dedicated OSIA member, Frank J DeSantis, on April 25, 2020. Unable to attend meetings this past year due to COPD and declining heart function he leaves a generous legacy of student scholarships, many Italian cultural and heritage events and the permanent tribute to the Italian American community in Orange County, the Columbus Monument at Bowers Museum among other lasting and magnanimous achievements for the benefit of all interested. His passion for advancement and heritage legacy will be felt far into the future, as he wished! The Supreme Lodge Awarded him the prestigious Guglielmo Marconi Award, OSIA’s highest honor for his decades of commitment and service to OSIA and the Italian community. Bravo Frank!

Greetings Brothers and Sisters, I hope everyone is staying safe during these unprecedented times. Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads. The summer is here and usually a time for summer weddings. I thought it would be a nice diversion to talk about Italian Wedding traditions. Did you know that Italian weddings are rarely held on Fridays, as this is viewed as the day evil spirits are created – and this will only bring you bad luck. The preferable day is Sunday – which is considered the luckiest day to marry and signifies fertility and prosperity. In many Italian weddings, both the bride and the groom will do all they can

By now we all have received the notice of the cancellation of our 2020 State Grand Convention in Concord, Ca. It was a difficult but necessary that, the majority of the lodges the decision was made.

Not being able to travel/visit lodges because of the COVID – 19 has given me time to say thank you to the various Lodges on their IL Leone articles and keep everyone informed on what is happening with OSDIA lodges thru the IL Leone issues. In memory of the passing of two “Icon” of the Grand Lodge of California, OSDIA. My sincere condolences to the Simile family on the passing

Sisters and Brothers:

Sitting here writing my article I am thinking that we should all be getting ready for the 84th California Grand Convention. I may be wrong, but I don’t believe we have missed a convention in that many years. I will miss the fraternity but know that when we have our 85th Convention next year it will be a major celebration. Some of us are still out working or working from home.

Some of us wish we were working to get away from the kitchen refrigerator. I know I may have to get a size bigger in my clothes if I don’t find something else to do besides cooking and baking!

Another month has passed and we are continuing to live a different world than what we are use to. I hope everyone is doing well and abiding by the rules set up by our elected State officials.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the De Santis family for the loss of Past State and National President Frank. I will always remember the first time I met Frank at the 2003 convention. He will be missed by all of us for his knowledge and his kind smile. He will now look over all of us in The Grand lodge above!

We will be sending out the Western Foundation donation forms you would normally receive at convention and be able to donate to our charities. Even though a lot of lodges have had to cancel