Honoring Those Who Taught Us Well
From the early to mid-1900s, Carlo Quintiliani was revered by the residents of Strasbourg, France, as a master tailor. His talent and passion helped generations of the city’s men and women look their best.
His influence on fit and fashion didn’t end with his death in 1947.
Three of his sons and two daughters went on to follow their father’s footsteps, becoming successful tailors.
One of his sons, Frank Quintiliani is an 89 year-old resident of Benchmark Senior Living’s Haverhill Crossings community in Haverhill, MA.
In 1948 when he was 16 years old, Frank came to the United States from Strasbourg, alone on a steamer ship with his twin brother. Neither of them spoke any English. His aunt and uncle in Haverhill, MA, took them in and raised them. Four years later, one of their sisters joined them, while the other siblings stayed behind in Europe with their mother.
He first learned the tailoring trade from his father, before, during, and after World War II. Quintiliani himself has been a tailor for 80 years, and he says that once you start working as a tailor, you will always be a tailor.
At Benchmark, there’s no need for him to stop doing what he loves.
“The show just goes on,” he says. That’s why a workspace in his new apartment was set up for him with a sewing machine when he moved in, so he could continue his work.
Quintiliani first started tailoring in the U.S. when his uncle took him to get a suit made for Easter, but it was too late to have it finished in time. That’s when Quintiliani suggested he make his own, using the tailor’s machine. Later, that same tailor gave him a part-time job. After that, as a medic in the Army, Quintiliani stitched soldiers’ wounds and eventually sewed stripes on uniforms when soldiers were promoted.
After the Army, he owned and ran Quintiliani Quality Tailor in Haverhill for 61 years until he retired. Even now, he loves using his stitching skills to make his fellow residents look and feel good.
The Benchmark team knows how important it is to keep doing what you’ve always done, especially after transitioning into a senior living community. We encourage all of our residents to continue being themselves, to maintain the hobbies, crafts, and activities they have always loved, and to add value in this way to all of our communities. After all, this is how we enrich the lives of those around us–by continuing to be who we are.
Quintiliani’s creativity and perseverance can serve as inspiration to us all. In celebration of Father’s Day, we honor him, his father Carlo, and his son, Frank Jr., an associate at Benchmark Senior Living. We thank them for reminding us to be grateful for the father-like figures in our lives who have taught us well–the tools of the trade, life skills, and healthy ways of loving family.
