Michael Francis Falcone

Michael Francis Falcone, 76, died Sunday, July 23, 2023, at The Hospice House after an extended illness. He was born on August 25, 1946, in Norwich, Connecticut to Joseph and Cecelia Falcone. The family moved to Willimantic, CT where he started playing golf at the age of six. He grew up spending every free moment at Willimantic Country Club and played golf for Windham High School. He met his best friend and love of his life, Phylis Archambault, at the Young Democrats Club. Politics would be a lifelong interest for them. He was on the Willimantic Democratic Committee and was the Florence County Democratic chairman. After years in advertising, he and his brother owned The Village Pizza restaurant and he was a member of the Connecticut National Guard. In 1976, Michael and his family moved to Florence, SC to open Michael‘s Italian Restaurant which would become a favorite place to eat for 30 years. Michael’s dream was to own a restaurant where people could eat with friends and be treated like family. After selling the restaurant, he worked for Carolina Bank until he retired in 2014. He belonged to The Florence Country Club, The Country Club of South Carolina and Oakdale Country Club where he found a golf family. He coached Little League, girls' softball, served on the Florence Planning and Zoning Commission, the Civic Center Board and belonged to the Florence Rotary Club. He and Phylis discovered a new passion, pickleball, later in life. The Florence Pickleball Club members made this time in his life special. He is predeceased by his parents, his brothers, Jay and Bobby Falcone, and sister-in-law, Merrilyn Falcone. He is survived by his wife, Phylis, his children, Julie (Bill) Ricken of Lexington, SC and Brian (Mary) Falcone of Florence, SC grandchildren Josh Ricken, Caroline Falcone, Grace Falcone and Anna Frances Falcone, sister-in-law, Georgette Falcone, nephew Robbie Falcone, nieces Gina (Ollie) Rupp, Kay (John) Turner and Stacey (Sean) O’Neal. Many thanks to Dr. Tim Spurling, Dr. Brinda Chokshi , Dr. Jaime Smith and Hospice House for their support during a difficult time. Dr. Spurling would credit himself for saving Michael's life many times (He did). A visitation will be held at 5:00 pm on Thursday, July 27, with the service beginning at 6:00 pm at Stoudenmire-Dowling Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to SC Junior Golf Foundation at scjgf.org or The MUSC Transplant Research Institute Fund at the MUSC Foundation, 18 Bee Street, Charleston, SC 29425 or online donations: giving.musc.edu Please sign the Guest Book for the family at www.stoudenmiredowling.com.