Hats knitted with love are a fitting tribute to Fr. Floyd

Since his death in 2009, the family of Fr. Floyd Lotito has knitted warm winter hats for St. Anthony’s guests in memory of the much-loved priest.

Fr. Floyd was a mainstay of St. Anthony’s for 40 years – occupying a number of positions including chaplain and director of the dining room. He was known and respected in the Tenderloin and throughout the City.

Each year his family, led by sister May, make the hats and affix a tag in each saying ‘In loving memory of Fr. Floyd’. The 400 or so hats are then distributed to our homeless and low income guests in January. This year half were given to seniors in the dining room and the other half were distributed to residents of our winter shelter.

Volunteer coordinator Marie O’Connor, said “Fr. Floyd made all of us feel loved and he made all of us laugh. He was magnificent – love just sprung up around him.”

She also noted, “Passing out these hats in January is a real ‘pick-me-up’ for our guests in the slump after Christmas!”