Frank Carmine Tosiello

Frank C. Tosiello, RN, Ed.D, originally of Greenwich Village, NY and currently residing in Traverse City, MI, passed away peacefully on November 29th, 2018 at Munson Hospice House in Traverse City, MI. His death came almost exactly one month to the day after his 100th birthday celebration. He is being cared for at the Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home. The life of this wonderful, accomplished, and generous man will be celebrated at a later date and time, and an announcement of that celebration will appear in the coming months. Dr. Tosiello was born on October 30th, 1918 in Greenwich Village, NY, the son of Josephine Tosiello (nee D’Andrea) and Ralph Tosiello. He grew up in Manhattan, and received his nursing degree as one of the first male students of nursing in the United States. He enlisted in the US Army during World War II, and served as a surgical nurse on a crash boat in the Aleutian Islands, AK, where he treated fallen aviators rescued by the craft. After leaving the Army, he married Josephine Duci on May 12, 1946, in New York City. After the war, Dr. Tosiello returned to academia, and after receiving his Ed.D from Columbia University, he was offered a professorship at that institution. After many years at Columbia, he was subsequently tapped for the position of Nursing Consultant for the NY State Department of Mental Hygiene. Several years later, he accepted a position as the Director of Nursing for the Veterans Administration Hospitals, and after years of service in that capacity, he retired from his long career in nursing and nursing education. He and his wife Josephine moved to Traverse City in 2000, in order to be closer to their children and grandchildren. In Traverse City, he served on the Community Mental Health board of directors’ recipient rights advisory committee, and he was a member of the National Alliance on Mental Health. Dr. Tosiello was an avid artist, and enjoyed working in oils, watercolor and charcoal. He was a regular contributor to the Traverse City Record Eagle on issues involving mental health and psychiatric care, and pursued lifelong interests in astronomy, classical music, and deep-sea fishing. Dr. Tosiello is survived by Josephine, his wife of 72 years, his daughter Claudia Tosiello, his son Mark Tosiello, and grandchildren Spenser, Kyra, and Bryce Tosiello.

Frank Carmine Tosiello

October 30, 1918 - November 29, 2018