Sinatra’s 1st wife dies at 101

LOS ANGELES — Nancy Barbato Sinatra, the childhood sweetheart of Frank Sinatra who became the first of his four wives and the mother of his three children, has died. She was 101.

Her daughter Nancy tweeted that her mother died Friday, but didn’t indicate where she died. “She was a blessing and the light of my life,” her daughter said.

Nancy and Frank Sinatra had been dating as teenagers and married at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic church in Jersey City on Feb. 4, 1939, just as Frank’s singing career was about to take off.

During the marriage’s early years, the Sinatras lived in a modest apartment in Jersey City. For a time, Nancy was employed as a secretary while her husband worked as a singing waiter.

They had three children, Nancy, Frank Jr. (who died in 2016) and Tina, and they divorced in 1951.