Obituary of Andrew Albert (Andy) Lubrano

EULESS – Andrew (Andy) Albert Lubrano passed away peacefully, asleep at home on Monday evening, May 20, 2024, after 94 years of a life to be celebrated. Please join his family and friends as they commemorate Andy’s legacy and thank our Lord for the blessing of life. 

Visitation and Rosary will be held on Sunday, June 2, from 2 PM to 4 PM at Thompson's Harveson and Cole Funeral Home, 4350 River Oaks Blvd, Fort Worth, TX 76114.

Mass of Christian Burial will be on Monday, June 3, at 10 AM at Saint Michael Catholic Church, 3713 E Harwood Rd, Bedford, TX 76021

Burial will be at Greenwood Memorial Park in Fort Worth immediately following Mass.

No flowers please. Instead, Andy has requested that donations be made to support others in need. The family has set up a donation page in his name in support of Mary’s Meals   (In Memory of Andrew Lubrano). Thank you.  

Andy was born in Brooklyn, New York, on March 12, 1930, to Italian immigrants, Vincent and Angela (Nippolo) Lubrano. It was the time of the Great Depression and Andy learned, early on, the value of conserving energy and saving money; values he would later strongly instill in his children. During those years, radio was the primary means of communication and home entertainment and Andy, who played sandlot baseball, was a fan of baseball great, Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio and the comedy act of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. 

Andy attended high school at Brooklyn’s St. Francis Preparatory School and St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights. During the Korean War, he was assigned to Fort Dix, New Jersey, where he served from 1952-1954.  After the war, he returned home and found work in a laboratory, where he met and befriended coworker Mary Gemma Murphy. They were married in 1957. That same year, Andy was hired on as a salesman as the 59themployee of a growing eye-care company called Alcon Pharmaceuticals. With Alcon, Andy would have an excellent career of 37 years, having a positive impact on the careers of countless employees. He rose through the ranks eventually reaching the level of National Sales-manager and later being recognized as a member of the Alcon Hall of Fame. 

Andy and Gemma began their family, in Brooklyn, with three sons: Vincent, Philip, and Andrew. In 1963, they moved to Staten Island, where the family grew to nine with the addition of Angela, Gina, Lawrence, and Gemma.  

The years in Staten Island were full and vibrant with children who altar-served at Mass, attended parochial schools, and engaged in neighborhood athletics. Andy spent several years helping coach baseball and, for a short stint, sang in glee club, an interest that would resurface in his retirement. Happy times included many weekend barbeques, visits, and meals with relatives, hosted in Staten Island and Brooklyn. 

In 1974, with family needs expanding, Andy accepted a promotion and moved his family from New York to Fort Worth, Texas, where Alcon was headquartered. 

Andy and Gemma worked hard for the next twenty years, putting their seven children through St Andrew’s Grade School, Nolan Catholic High School, and various colleges in Texas. Andy was involved in the community and volunteered his services where and whenever he could. He became a member of the Knights of Columbus as well as a faithful lector at his church, and a Trustee on the Board for the Diocese of Fort Worth (1988-1991).  He and his wife were also season ticket holders at Fort Worth’s Casa Mañana Theatre. 

After retiring from Alcon in 1994, Andy served as a member of Citizens On Patrol, cruising the neighborhood and reporting any suspicious activities. He renewed his passion of singing by joining the Arlington Goodtimes Chorus, where he performed barbershop tunes for over 20 years, even winning “Barbershopper of the Year” in 2007.  Andy treasured the camaraderie of his fellow barbershoppers and served in various capacities on the chorus’ board. Other organizations in which he was involved were the Sons of Italy, the Holy Name Society, and the Nolan High School Board.

In 2015, after 40 years in Fort Worth, Andy and Gemma downsized and moved to a house in Euless, next to their son, Lawrence. Andy remained active in the community and in the lives of his friends and family. In 2020, he established the Lubrano Endowment fund at Nolan to provide scholarships to incoming families of need.

Andrew A. Lubrano was preceded in death by his loving wife, Mary Gemma (d. 2019) and their youngest son Joseph (d. 1975). He is survived by his two sisters: Jennie Cervone and Carmela Giambrone; four sons: Vincent (wife Debbie), Philip (Kathy), Andrew (Nancy), and Lawrence (Nynochka); three daughters: Angela Forsyth (husband Jack), Gina Jaggers (late husband, Jack), and Gemma Urbanek (husband Frank); twenty-five grandchildren: Christopher, Kevin, Joel,  Sarah, Matthew, Joseph, Lux, David, Benjamin, Nathaniel, Nickolas, Dominic, Angela, and Isabel – all Lubranos by name; Rebecca, John, Melanie and Kyle Forsyth; Michael, Rachael, and Aaron Jaggers; Zigmund, Carmela, Gerard, and Urban Urbanek; and three great-grandchildren: Evelyn and Isla Lubrano, and Jack Leopoldo Barrios. 

Andy lived a life of generosity, faith, pragmatism, sacrifice, and service. We are grateful for his noble example, his love, and his inspiration.