Isaaco was almost four when his parents fled Italy in 1939. His parents had moved from Poland to Milan 15 years earlier when his father was given a coveted post as cantor of the Sefardic synagogue. The family’s years in Milan had been idyllic, but then Mussolini came to power, and everything changed.

Isaaco was the youngest of three children, and he was close with his sister Hinda and his brother David. They came to America by boat with no friends and no knowledge of English. There was no use complaining; they were happy to get out of Europe alive.