Stephen A. Fauci The Compassionate Pharmacist and Father Behind a Family Legacy of Service

Stephen A. Fauci was a Brooklyn pharmacist, devoted husband, father, and first generation Italian American whose life was shaped by family, medicine, community, and service. Although he never became a public figure in his own right, his influence reached far beyond the neighborhood pharmacy he operated in Brooklyn. He was the father of Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the renowned immunologist and longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and many of Anthony Fauci’s reflections on public service trace back to the example set by his parents.

Born around 1910 in New York, Stephen grew up in an Italian immigrant family whose roots reached back to Sciacca, Sicily. His life unfolded during a period when immigrant families were building new communities in New York, and his own family became closely associated with Bensonhurst and Dyker Heights in Brooklyn.

Stephen’s story is not one of wealth or celebrity. Instead, it is a story of ordinary work carrying extraordinary meaning. Behind the counter of his pharmacy, he became known simply as “Doc,” a trusted neighborhood figure who often placed compassion ahead of profit.

Stephen A. Fauci Early Life and Sicilian American Roots

Antonino, often called Antonio, Fauci, and Calogera Guardino had Stephen A. Fauci in 1910 in New York. His parents came from Sciacca, Sicily, and brought with them the resilience and traditions of early Italian American families in New York.

Calogera, commonly known as Lillian and Lillie, was born in Sciacca on December 23, 1873. She was buried at Green Wood Cemetery after dying in Brooklyn on January 21, 1952. In 1902, Antonino married Calogera in Manhattan.

Before settling in Bensonhurst, the Faucis lived in Little Italy. Family stories linked Antonino’s relatives to Sicily’s thermal springs. After arriving in the US, he supported his family and laid the groundwork for future generations.

Stephen grew up throughout massive social change. A highlight of his childhood was the 1918 influenza epidemic. The family background includes a severe public health crisis he faced at age 8. His son became an infectious disease researcher and responder decades later.

Stephen Fauci and Eugenia Abys A Brooklyn Partnership

Stephen met Eugenia Lillian Abys while they were still young. They knew each other from eighth grade and later attended New Utrecht High School together in Brooklyn. Their relationship developed into marriage shortly after high school, when both were still teenagers or barely into adulthood.

Eugenia was born on August 3, 1909, in Manhattan and died on October 29, 1965. She was the daughter of Giovanni Abys, a Swiss born artist, and Raffaella Trematerra, who came from Naples, Italy and worked as a seamstress.

Eugenia’s family background was also connected to the immigrant experience. Her father worked in artistic fields that included landscapes, portraits, illustrations, and commercial designs, while her mother contributed to the household through skilled work as a seamstress.

Stephen attended Columbia’s College of Pharmacy, preparing for the profession that would define his adult life. Eugenia attended Hunter College. Their marriage became the center of a tightly connected household in Brooklyn.

Together they had two children:

The family shared more than a home. They shared work, responsibility, and the daily rhythm of the neighborhood pharmacy.

The Fauci Pharmacy and Life Above the Store

Stephen’s pharmacy became one of the most important settings of his family’s life. Located around 13th Avenue and 83rd Street in Brooklyn, Fauci Pharmacy stood near the Shrine Church of St. Bernadette and served the surrounding community.

The family lived upstairs in a three bedroom apartment, creating a world in which home and work were separated by little more than a staircase.

The pharmacy was more than a place to pick up medicine. It had a soda fountain, telephone booths, and a central counter that helped make it a gathering place for local residents. Stephen worked in the back dispensing medications, while Eugenia and Denise helped at the register. Young Anthony delivered prescriptions by bicycle.

Anthony’s bicycle, described as a Schwinn with a front basket, became part of his childhood routine. He delivered prescriptions during evenings, weekends, and school vacations and sometimes received tips from customers.

This environment offered Anthony an unusually direct education in responsibility. He watched his father listen to people, solve problems, and treat customers with dignity. Medicine was not presented simply as a profession. It was a form of service.

Stephen A. Fauci His Reputation for Generosity

Stephen was remembered as kind, humorous, ethical, and generous, sometimes to the point of hurting his own business.

His pharmacy served people who could not always afford their prescriptions. When customers struggled financially, Stephen might allow them to put the cost “on the tab.” In some cases, he simply waived payment.

From a conventional business perspective, this was not always wise. Yet Stephen’s priorities were different. He saw the person standing in front of him before he saw the unpaid bill.

That philosophy became one of the strongest threads connecting Stephen’s life with Anthony Fauci’s later career. Public service can sound like an abstract phrase, but Stephen demonstrated it in small daily decisions. A prescription handed to a struggling neighbor, a conversation at the counter, or a willingness to help someone without expecting repayment could become a lesson in character.

His greatest achievement was therefore not a professional title or financial fortune. It was the trust he built.

Denise Lillian Fauci Scorce and the Older Generation of the Family

Denise Lillian Fauci Scorce, born November 24, 1937, was Stephen and Eugenia’s first child. Like the rest of the family, she became involved with the pharmacy while growing up.

Denise later married John Matthew “Jack” Scorce, who was born in 1935 and died in 2023. He was a corporate attorney associated with the telecommunications field, served in the Army, and later devoted time to volunteer activities.

Denise’s life remained considerably more private than that of her younger brother. She has been associated with teaching and lived in the Northern Virginia and Alexandria area. Her family expanded the Fauci line through children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.

The Scorce branch is part of the broader family network that Stephen left behind. Among the descendants mentioned in family records are Joli Anne Fekeci, Eric Jonathan Scorce, Nicolas, Jacklyn, Stefan Fekeci, Brandon Scorce, and Kayla Scorce.

Anthony Stephen Fauci and His Father’s Influence

At Brooklyn Hospital, Anthony Stephen Fauci was born December 24, 1940. He grew up at the pharmacy with prescriptions, community conversations, family obligations, and his father’s example.

Anthony became an infectious disease specialist and famous American doctor. He assisted seven U.S. presidents as director of the NIAID from 1984 to 2022.

A Brooklyn childhood lay behind massive institutions and global health issues.

Fatherhood shaped Anthony’s service ethic. Stephen had no national platform. A pharmacy counter was his. He advised no presidents. He advised neighbors. Local scale, expansive values.

The difference is stark. Stephen helped people one prescription at a time, while his son worked on millions of diseases. Helping people with your knowledge and abilities was the common theme.

Eugenia Fauci and the Family Home

Eugenia played an important but quieter role in the family. She worked at the pharmacy register and shared the demanding rhythm of a small family business with Stephen.

Her death on October 29, 1965, marked a major change in the household. Stephen continued working and eventually took a position with the Memorial Sloan Kettering pharmacy.

Eugenia was buried at Green Wood Cemetery, where other members of the extended family were also laid to rest. Her presence remained part of the family story through the memories of her children.

The early household she created with Stephen was one built around education, work, and mutual responsibility. The children were expected to participate, but they were also given opportunities to pursue their own paths.

Stephen Fauci Career and Financial Life

Stephen’s professional identity was firmly rooted in pharmacy. After completing his pharmacy education at Columbia, he established himself as a neighborhood pharmacist in Brooklyn.

The pharmacy reportedly operated for long hours, roughly from morning until late evening on most weekdays and Saturdays, with a shorter Sunday schedule. Such hours were demanding for a family business, especially one in which several members participated.

Later, Stephen worked at Memorial Sloan Kettering, extending his professional life beyond the neighborhood store.

There is no reliable public record establishing a substantial personal fortune for Stephen. His financial story appears modest and closely connected to the economics of a working class neighborhood pharmacy. His willingness to provide medicine on credit or without payment likely reduced his profits.

His wealth was measured differently. It existed in relationships, reputation, and the values he passed to his children.

The Fauci Grandchildren and Extended Family

Stephen became a grandfather through both Denise and Anthony.

Anthony and his wife, Christine Grady, married in 1985. Christine is a bioethicist and a prominent health professional in her own right. Their daughters are Jennifer, Megan, and Alison Fauci.

Through Denise’s family, Stephen also became a grandfather and great grandfather. By the time of his death in 2008, he was survived by five grandchildren and three great grandchildren.

This extended family demonstrates how a relatively small Brooklyn household grew across generations. The Fauci family expanded beyond the pharmacy, yet the original values of education, professional dedication, and family responsibility remained visible.

Stephen A. Fauci and the Meaning of Public Service

Stephen’s influence becomes particularly interesting when viewed alongside Anthony Fauci’s memoir On Call A Doctor’s Journey in Public Service.

Anthony’s career covered more than five decades of medicine and public service, including the AIDS epidemic, emerging infectious diseases, Ebola, Zika, biodefense, and COVID 19. His professional world eventually involved presidents, scientists, activists, patients, and international health programs.

Stephen’s world was much smaller geographically, but the moral framework was similar.

At the pharmacy counter, Stephen encountered people who needed help. He did not always know whether they could repay him. He helped anyway.

That small act became a kind of family inheritance. It was not money or property. It was an attitude toward responsibility.

Stephen A. Fauci Final Years and Death

Stephen continued working after Eugenia died in 1965 and joined Memorial Sloan Kettering’s pharmacy.

He continued to contact his children and extended relatives until his May 13, 2008 death. He was 90 and had lived through nearly a century of American history.

His burial Mass was celebrated at St. Catherine of Siena Church in NYC, and he was buried at Green Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.

Stephen never desired fame, therefore his death garnered little independent coverage. Instead, his son’s career carried his name.

Stephen A. Fauci Family Timeline

FAQ

Who was Stephen A. Fauci?

Stephen A. Fauci was an American pharmacist and the father of physician scientist Anthony S. Fauci. He owned and operated a neighborhood pharmacy in Brooklyn and later worked at Memorial Sloan Kettering.

Where was Stephen A. Fauci born?

Stephen was born in New York around 1910. His family had deep Italian American roots connected to Sciacca, Sicily.

Who were Stephen A. Fauci’s parents?

His parents were Antonino or Antonio Fauci and Calogera Guardino. Both were connected to Sciacca, Sicily, and immigrated to the United States.

Who was Stephen A. Fauci’s wife?

Stephen’s wife was Eugenia Lillian Abys Fauci, born in 1909 and deceased in 1965. The couple met while young and attended New Utrecht High School together.

How many children did Stephen A. Fauci have?

Stephen and Eugenia had two children, Denise Lillian Fauci Scorce and Anthony Stephen Fauci.

What was Stephen Fauci’s occupation?

He was a pharmacist. He graduated from Columbia’s pharmacy school, operated Fauci Pharmacy in Brooklyn, and later worked at Memorial Sloan Kettering.

Was Stephen Fauci wealthy?

There is no reliable evidence that Stephen accumulated a large fortune. His neighborhood pharmacy was a modest family business, and his generosity toward customers sometimes meant accepting delayed payments or no payment.

How did Stephen Fauci influence Anthony Fauci?

Stephen modeled compassion, honesty, hard work, and community service. Anthony Fauci has repeatedly connected his understanding of public service to the values he learned from his parents and his Brooklyn upbringing.

Who are Stephen Fauci’s grandchildren?

His grandchildren included Jennifer, Megan, and Alison Fauci through Anthony and Christine Grady, as well as descendants through his daughter Denise and her family.

When did Stephen A. Fauci die?

Stephen A. Fauci died on May 13, 2008. He was buried at Green Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn after a funeral Mass at St. Catherine of Siena Church in New York City.