Artist and calligrapher celebrates 103 years

Frank Burzotta with his homemade liqueur with calligraphic label

Frank Burzotta’s eyes sparkle with the joy he’s collected over his 103 years.

In his small apartment at The Legacy in Anderson, he moves around, perhaps a little shorter than years before. But he has no cane, nothing to aide his steps. His “favorite” girl, Mona Black, sits with him at the kitchen table.

Burzotta has reason to smile these days. He has his daughter, Linda Nilson, who lives in Pendleton. A professional artist for years, he still does calligraphy. He can whip up his homemade liqueurs that his mother had taught him to make years ago. And he has his girlfriend Mona, a woman he met at the library as she worked on his taxes about five years ago, to keep him company.

Burzotta was born in Roccapalumba, a small village in Sicily, and he lived there until he was 11. When his family immigrated, he picked up English from books and a helpful bilingual classmate. He spent his high-school years in Brooklyn, studied art, ended up joining the U.S. Army Air Corps, and spent a career working in Chicago’s retail advertising market. His Italian charm comes through as he laughs and talks about his younger days.

“My parents taught me, ‘Save your energy as much as possible. Do all you can, but don’t waste your energy,’” Burzotta said. So he didn’t waste any energy.

“Since high school, I've been excited about art,” Burzotta said. “I figured I might as well stay here and keep up with my education. But I had no interest in being a starving artist. So I went into commercial art.”

He kept plaques that he won with his artwork. His daughter has carefully guarded a few of those sketches from his days at New York University and when he drew advertisements for Montgomery Ward.

His kitchen cabinet is full of extracts: vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon and walnut are a few. With those and some alcohol, he makes his liqueurs. He and guests sip them straight or add them to cocktails. He uses his calligraphy pens to make labels for the liqueurs.

All these things — his art, advice from his parents, the love of his family and a pretty lady by his side — have kept him young, he says.

Source: Anderson Independent Mail