Nancy Barbato Sinatra Sr., Frank Sinatra’s First Wife, Dies At 101

Frank Sinatra’s first wife and the mother of his three children, Nancy Barbato Sinatra Sr., passed away on Friday night at 101-years-old.

Their daughter, Nancy, announced her mother’s passing in a tweet:

“My mother passed away peacefully tonight at the age of 101. She was a blessing and the light of my life. Godspeed, Momma. Thank you for everything,” Nancy wrote.

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Frank and Nancy met in 1934 in Long Branch, New Jersey. Five years later, they married at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in Jersey City. For their wedding present, Frank gave her a record of a song he made for her titled, “Our Love.” Before Frank rose to fame, the two lived in a New Jersey apartment together, Nancy working as a secretary and Frank as a singing waiter.

They had their first two children Nancy and Frank Jr. before he became a household name. Their eldest, Nancy, was also musically inclined, releasing her 60’s hit “These Boots Were Made For Walkin.'”

In 1944, Frank’s career had taken off, so the family moved to Toluca Lake, Calif. Soon after, they had their last child, Tina.

 

News broke that Frank was having an affair with actress Ava Gardener, so the two split up in 1951. However, they somehow kept an amicable relationship until he passed away in 1998. Nancy also outlived her son Frank Jr., who passed away in 2016.

“There is no bitterness, only great respect and affection between Sinatra and his first wife,” Gay Talese wrote in 1966, “and he has long been welcome in her home and has even been known to wander in at odd hours, stoke the fire, lie on the sofa, and fall asleep.”

 

However, their daughter Nancy recalled how hard the divorce was on her mother.

“I would hear her crying quietly at night while I was going to sleep,” she has said. “She would never show it in front of us, never, but my room was next to hers and I would tiptoe out and I’d listen at the door and she’d be crying. Sometimes I would go in to her and just put my arms around her.”

Nancy never remarried, but Frank went on to have another three wives.