Angelo Salvatore Pagano
Angelo Pagano Obituary
Angelo Salvatore Pagano, of the Windsor Ortega Community, Jacksonville, and formerly of Alachua, FL, was called to his final resting place on February 8, 2018 at the age of 96.
He was born March 17, 1921 in Manayunk, Philadelphia, PA, son of Carmine Pagano and Pasqualina "Jessie" Lancetta, immigrants from Montemarano, Italy. He grew up in Winslow, NJ, and graduated from Hammonton High School in 1940. His childhood was punctuated by the Great Depression, and from an early age, he worked as a farm laborer in the summers to help support his family. He proudly served his country during World War II as a surgical and pharmacy technician in the US Army 265th Medical Detachment, stationed in Paris, France. After the war, he attended Mississippi State College (now University), graduating in 1952 with a degree in organic chemistry. He began working for the Rohm and Haas Corporation at Redstone Arsenal, in Huntsville, AL, in Dr. William D. Emmons' research group, developing propellants for the early Redstone Rocket program, a forerunner of the NASA space program. He retired from Rohm and Haas in 1986, having worked at the Spring House, PA research laboratories for many years. He was author or co-author of numerous technical articles and procedures in chemistry journals, and a patent holder. He would remain interested in science, especially astronomy, his whole life.
In 1950, he married Maude Mae Weir of Carthage, MS. They were blessed with 65 years together, raising four children, and enjoying traveling, disco and country and western dancing, golfing, gardening and yard work together. In addition, Angelo was an avid downhill skier and could be found on the slopes of Heavenly Valley at Lake Tahoe, CA and Breckenridge, CO into his 80's. He also could still be seen biking around his neighborhood at 94. The family lived in Mississippi, Alabama, and South Jersey before settling for about 25 years in and around Doylestown, PA. In the 1970's, they began a multi-year "weekend project" of building a vacation home in The Hideout in Lake Ariel, PA. They retired to Florida, where they lived in Bradenton, Land o' Lakes, and Alachua. In 1998, he traveled to Italy in search of his roots, and was warmly welcomed by many newly discovered cousins. He had a lifelong interest in trains, stemming from his father's work for the Pennsylvania Railroad, and he enjoyed trips to the Folkston Train Funnel in Georgia.
Angelo was preceded in death by his parents, wife Maude, infant son Lawrence, and all his dear brothers and sisters, Madeline, Marie, Frank, Benny, and Gino. He is survived by his children Carman (Susan), Susan Lorraine (Dave), Barbara Lynn (Frank), and Roland (Kara), grandchildren Christopher, Jennifer, Amy, Cheryl, Patrick, and Joseph, and great-grandchildren Kimberlee, RJ, Dylan, Tyler and Cera Lynn. Visitation will be Tuesday, February 20 at Giddens-Reed Funeral Home, 270 US Highway 301 N., Baldwin, FL 32234, from 11 a.m., with a short service at noon, and interment to follow at Jacksonville National Cemetery at 1:30 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Angelo may be made to the Alzheimer's Association, 225 N. Michigan Ave., Fl. 17, Chicago, IL 60601.
In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Angelo may be made to the
Association, 225 N. Michigan Ave., Fl. 17, Chicago, IL 60601.
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