The Ugo and Katherine San Antonio-Marcello Scholarship Fund

The Ugo and Katherine San Antonio-Marcello Scholarship Fund was established to continue a legacy of community involvement that was important to both of them.

Ugo San Antonio, also known by his radio name, Hugh Anthony, was born in 1923 and died in 2002. He attended Lawrence High School, and it was there that his love for theatre and public speaking was born. After serving in the Army in WW2, he received a degree in Communications from Boston University. After college, he directed and acted in local plays, and he coached students who competed in oratorical contests, some of whom won awards. In the '50s and '60s he was a radio personality and he conducted numerous interviews with popular music artists of the day, including Peggy Lee, Connie Francis, and Annette Funicello. Merrimack Valley teenagers danced to Rock and Roll for the first time at sock hops where he was a popular DJ. Later he was a successful salesman for the Pitney Bowes company. For over 40 years, he was active in the Kiwanis Club and with Corpus Christi Parish, and was an energetic community volunteer. He taught the importance of using the blessings in our lives to open doors for others.

While Ugo's affinity was for music and theatre, Katherine's creativity was expressed in her talent for exquisite cooking, various beautiful artistic creations, and growing amazing flower gardens. They both loved entertaining. Ugo's guitar was always at hand for sing-a-longs, and Katherine created delicious meals.

Katherine (Kay) was born in 1926 and died October 6, 2016. Throughout her life, she nurtured her relationships with family and friends with quiet gestures of kindness. She had a strong sense of compassion and a belief in economic and social justice. As a young woman working in a Lawrence factory, she was bothered by the unfair treatment of women and she spoke up about it. In the '60s and '70s she worked at the Internal Revenue Service. Then, in the 1980's, she fulfilled her dream of opening an ice cream parlor, where she also served meals and home-baked Italian specialty foods. She is remembered for her strong faith, her open-mindedness, her brilliant smile, and her ability to strive forward with hope and persistence.

Scholarships are awarded to students that have aspirations toward a career in Communications/Theatre or Culinary Arts/Restaurant Management.

For more information about the fund, please contact Donna San Antonio: dsananto@lesley.edu.

The Ugo and Katherine San Antonio-Marcello Scholarship Fund is a fund at the Essex County Community Foundation. All donations are tax-deductible. If you have any questions regarding your online donation, please contact us directly at (978) 777-8876 or email donations@eccf.org.

If you would like to send your donation by mail, please make it out to the San Antonio-Marcello Scholarship Fund/ECCF and send it to ECCF, 175 Andover Street, Danvers, MA 01923.

Thank you!