Talk:Dan Ronsisvalle

working on the draft below when i can... sagefats (talk) 11:05, 27 August 2021 (PDT)

Early Life

Ronsisvalle was born in 1936 in Maryland, the tenth of twelve children, to Benito "Benny" Sebastian Ronsisvalle and wife Josefina (née Castro). Benny and Josefina emigrated from Sicily in 1913 and 1914, respectively. Throughout young Dan's life, Benny worked in construction and consequently had to frequently move the family to wherever he could find work, from Massachusetts to D.C. to Maryland. Ultimately, the Ronsisvalle family settled in the greater Washington, D.C. area in Hyattsville, Maryland. In 1923, the family began attending a local Protestant and Pentecostal church in northeast Washington, whose congregation was largely Italian-Americans.

In the 1930's, the family faced numerous hardships exacerbated in part by the Great Depression, including his siblings having to find work as children, the death of his brother Jimmy at the age of three, his mother's illness, and his father's struggle with alcoholism and gambling. With the advent of World War II, like many Americans, the Ronsisvalle family's standard of living improved as more members found gainful employment. The family was able to purchase a home in Washington, D.C. It was during these years that Ronsisvalle and his siblings developed an interest in music, and developed their talents singing and playing instruments. Ronsisvalle himself learned to play the steel guitar.