Dr. Anthony J. Sanginario

Dr. Anthony J. Sanginario, 83, of 300 Greeley St., died Monday, February 2, 2009, in Bolton Manor Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, Marlborough, after an illness. His wife of 41 years, Ann H. (Regonini) Sanginario, died in 1993.

He is survived by a daughter, Diane M. O'Neil, and her husband, William, of Lancaster; three sons: Brian A. Sanginario and his wife, Mary, of Worcester, Gary P. Sanginario and his wife, Gina, of Westborough, and Kenneth J. Sanginario and his wife, Alexandria, of Southborough; ten grandchildren: Kevin, Timothy, Joseph, Philip, and Leah Sanginario, William, Stephen, Laura, and Michael O'Neil, and Tina Sebastyn; several nieces and nephews. Two brothers, Angelo and Frank Sanginario, and three sisters, Mary Johnson, Lucy Morgan, and Florence Hennis, predeceased him.

Tony was born and raised in Clinton, the son of Pasquale and Raffaela (Lamberti) Sanginario, who had immigrated to the US from Campobasso, Italy. In 1942, he graduated from Clinton High School, where he served as Class Treasurer in his senior year. From 1947 on, he organized his Class Reunion every five years.

After high school, he worked for one year at the former Bausch & Lomb Optical Co. of Worcester, before applying for induction into the US Army in August, 1943. Assigned to the 362nd Ordinance Maintenance Co., Anti-Aircraft Artillery at Camp Edwards, Tony then attended Optics School in Maryland, and subsequently served in the Pacific Theatre, where his company received a Unit Citation for their service during the Battle of Iwo Jima. In March, 1946, he was Honorably Discharged, as a Tech 4 Sgt.

Having dreamed of becoming an Optometrist from his early teens, Tony availed himself of the GI Bill, and was accepted to the Pennsylvania College of Optometry in Philadelphia. While there, he served as Sophomore Class President, and President of both the Newman Club, and the Omega Delta Fraternity, a National Optometric Fraternity. He graduated in 1951 with a Doctor of Optometry Degree. Returning home to Clinton, he conducted a Practice of Optometry from 1952, until his retirement in 2002, after more than 50 years in the field. In 1957, he was the first Optometrist in the area to prescribe Contact Lenses. Starting in 1982, his son, Brian, an Optician, joined him. They worked side by side for the next 19 years. In 1999, Tony sold his practice to the Fallon Clinic, and, at their request, remained as its sole practitioner for another 2 ½ years.

A life member of St. John the Evangelist Church, he was also a member of the Massachusetts Society of Optometrists, the New England Council of Optometrists, the American Optometry Association, the St. John's Church Holy Name Society, the Clinton Lions Club, the Sons of Italy, the Clinton Elks, the Clinton Knights of Columbus, the Clinton VFW, the American Legion, Post #50, and the Clinton Rotary Club, receiving the Paul Harris Fellow Award, the highest honor bestowed on a Rotarian.

In addition, he served as President of the District Nursing Association, and the Clinton Community Chest, and was the Chairman for fifteen years of Clinton Hospital's bi-monthly Blood Drive. He served on the Clinton School Committee, was Treasurer of the Clinton Community Scholarship Fund, the researcher and sole originator of the Clinton Conservation Committee, a Corporator of the Clinton Savings Bank, a Trustee of the Clinton Hospital Foundation, and was a fund raiser for the St. John's Restoration Fund, and the Cystic Fibrosis and Muscular Dystrophy Associations. A former Boy Scout, Tony helped to raise funds each year for the Nashua Valley Council of Boy Scouts, and was honored by the organization in 2001, receiving the First Annual Good Scout Award during a ceremony at the Town Hall.

Tony's funeral will be held on Friday, February 6, 2009, from the McNally & Watson Funeral Home, 304 Church St., with a Mass at 10:00 a.m. in St. John the Evangelist Church, 80 Union St. Burial will follow in St. John's Cemetery, Lancaster. Relatives and friends are invited to attend calling hours on Thursday, February 5, 2009, from 5:00-8:00 p.m., in the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Tony's memory to the Clinton Hospital Foundation, 201 Highland St., Clinton, MA 01510.

www.mcnallywatson.com