Sharon Franchini Wengart

After WW I, between 1914 and 1918, Italy experienced severe social and economic unrest. This included widespread strikes and factory occupations by the workers demanding better living conditions and higher wages. In 1919, Benito Mussolini founded the Fascist Party, a far right political movement that gained popularity by exploiting the social and political instability of the time. In 1922, Mussolini was appointed Prime Minister, gradually dismantling democratic institutions and establishing himself as dictator.

These are the times and conditions that Sharon Franchini was born into. In spite of all this, she grew to become a quiet, peaceful, gracious young woman, a comfort to her parents and admired by her two sisters and three brothers. Sharon's kindness and generosity were known by her entire community in northern Italy.

As a child, Sharon and her siblings would explore the medieval towers and arcades of Bologna. Fortunately, the Mussolini regime supported traditional family values and national unity, so the Franchini family enjoyed all the joys of a close-knit Italian way of life. Although they experienced limited freedoms, daily life was full of scrumptious dinners around the table with her mom hovering to attend to everyone's needs. 

Sharon's passions were cooking, sewing, entertaining guests, neighbors and family, and most of all, her husband, Dennis. She looked back with fondness the day she met her soon-to-be husband, Dennis Wengart. He was so handsome and kind in his US Army uniform, and went out of his way to learn Italian so he could express his affections for Sharon. Her family immediately welcomed him into  “la famiglia”. In the most romantic way possible, Dennis proposed marriage to her under the famous porticos of Bologna, surprising her with a candlelit dinner under the stars. Sharon's mom and dad were secretly watching as he went down on one knee and asked her to be his bride. 

Soon after their wedding, they boarded the ocean liner RMS Queen Elizabeth on their honeymoon and docked in New York. Dennis bought a Willis Jeep station wagon for the long trip to Bozeman, MT, introducing his beautiful bride to her new home, America. Sharon had mixed feelings between her love for her new husband, America with its vast panorama of spacious scenery, the various cultures living peacefully as neighbors, and her homesickness for Italy, her parents and her siblings, Isabella Lucas. Teresa, Eric and Paolo. But she threw herself into her new adventure, showing patience, joy, generosity and the sincere desire to be a blessing to her new very large family, the Wengarts.