LEONA A. GARUFY, 88, of Port Charlotte, Florida died Saturday,
July 29, 2006 at Village Place, Port Charlotte.
She was born June 19, 1918 in Worcester, Massachusetts and moved to
Port Charlotte in 1985 from Roselle, NJ. She was of the Catholic faith.
Leona loved to sing and was a member of the Port Charlotte Ladies Barbershop Quartet (Potpourri) which was named by Harmony, Inc. in 1996 at the (best in Florida and Georgia). Her singing career began in the days of live radio broadcast. She sang professionally and had the distinction of turning down an offer presented personally by Benny Goodman to sing in his band, who heard a record she had made. Being only 19 at the time she decided to get married instead.
She is survived by her loving family, her husband of 66 years, Francis C. Garufy of Port Charlotte; a daughter, Diane Quimby of East Stroudsburg, PA; two sons, Francis C. Garufy, II of South America and Robert A .Garufy of Arden, NC; 3 grandchildren, Joseph, Janice and Jennifer; 2 great grandchildren, Shane and Anthony.