Sebastian Paul Musco

1926 - 2021

January 12, 1926 - September 18, 2021 Chances are you've been in Paul Musco's orbit even without your knowledge.That's because the prolific Orange County entrepreneur, philanthropist to the arts and overall savior to just about anyone in need of a little help, made an indelible mark on the lives of thousands of individuals and hundreds of institutions alike.Musco, who died September 18 of heart failure at age 95, proved so adept at giving away his fortune during his long and storied life, it became a game of sorts. All the better, he said, when people didn't realize the money came from him.Musco's largess – gained from a wildly successful global metal extraction company he created – extended from helping and inspiring his own family members to supporting his employees and their families. He also was known for providing vital funding and leadership to educational, religious and health organizations as well as to the performing and visual arts."Paul called me one day and asked if I had time for lunch," recalled Daniele Struppa, then a new president of Chapman University, in Orange. "I was really busy and told him so. Paul's response was, 'Aww, that's too bad because I want to give you a million bucks for an endowed chair in Italian language studies.' Obviously, I changed my schedule that day."The Muscos even donated their own Newport Beach home to Chapman University. "I now live there with my family," Struppa said. "Paul's only requirement was that we be as happy living there as he was."Added former Chapman University President, Jim Doti: "Paul was truly one in a million. I lost my own two brothers and now I feel I've lost a third. Many lives are fuller as a result of having a friend like Paul. He was caring, kind and generous to a fault."Musco's brash style of generosity was repeated so many times to Chapman, its students and others throughout Orange and Los Angeles counties it's tough to keep track.For example, he and his wife, Marybelle, helped to breathe life into an ailing Opera Pacific. They also provided most of the funding for Chapman's Musco Center for the Arts. They supported the Orange County School of the Arts, Pacific Symphony, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Muscular Dystrophy Association, UC Irvine Diabetes Center, City of Hope and PBS SoCal. They funded the Marybelle and S. Paul Musco School of Nursing and Health Professions at Brandman University (now University of Massachusetts Global) in honor of Paul Musco's sisters who served as military nurses during WWII.Their generosity and leadership extended to St. Michael's Abbey and to Canyon Acres Children and Family Services. Paul Musco served on the Orange County Sheriff Advisory Council and as vice-chair of the LA Opera board of directors."Paul was a rainmaker," said Ralph Opacic, founder of Orange County School of the Arts. "His involvement ensured the success of any event or institution. He was the kingpin of the school's Marybelle Musco Dance Center and the reason we were able to raise $15 million. He had a heart of gold. We'd have lunch and he'd show up with a bottle of perfume for my wife." But his true love was work. Hard work. Nearly every day, he donned his trademark suit, a coordinating tie and pocket square atop a crisp, long-sleeve shirt with French cuffs … (I'll never understand this casual Friday trend," he once remarked) … and set out for his office. He repeated this ritual until two days before he died."Work was his life force," said Marybelle Musco, his wife of 50 years. "He'd bound out of the house like a kid. Sometimes he was up and dressed by 4 a.m. He was ever ready to begin a new day."That strong work ethic set a good example for many people but mostly for his own children and grandchildren. His daughter, Kristine David, and son, Paul Musco, followed their father's template of community outreach and public service. Kristine David attained the highly-respected rank of Rotary Club Governor in Rhode Island. Son, Paul, an ophthalmologist in New Hampshire, said his father was a life-long inspiration and role model."He was always proud of my achievements and I was proud of his," the younger Musco said. "He did it himself and gave it away. That sticks with me. If I ever won the lottery I'd put money in someone's mailbox, just like my father would. The world won't be the same without him making things happen."Paul Musco started making things happen at the tender age of 6. By then he was already making money cleaning up after chickens at an uncle's Rhode Island poultry store. Raised Catholic, he scoured under the pews on his hands and knees after Sunday Mass looking for change that fell out of the donation basket. He shined shoes. He delivered milk to the tenements in his small home town of Providence, Rhode Island.When he turned 15, he lied about his age and enlisted in the US Navy, where he was trained as a medic. He served but rarely spoke about the horrors of his tenure in the Pacific Theater during WWII, his wife said.Sebastian Paul Musco and his equally gregarious and generous identical twin brother, Anthony Musco, were born on January 12, 1926. They died two months to the day of each other. The twins spoke every day by phone. They were the seventh and eighth of 10 children, born to Sicilian immigrants. His father, Carmelo, worked as a school janitor. His mother, Lucia, was a skilled seamstress.He remembered his parents as uneducated and yet undefeated by poverty. "My parents had nothing but gave me everything I needed to be successful," he said.They also gave Musco and his siblings a life-long love of opera. They listened to the Metropolitan Opera performance on radio each Saturday afternoon. Classical music was ever-present in their home. Musco never attended college yet always held education in high esteem. To establish himself after the war, he took business classes and worked at a company that dealt in silver manufacturing and reclamation. In what may have been a pivotal point in his career, he applied for a position with Engelhard Industries, a world-wide metals firm, owned by the infamous Charles Engelhard, a character many believe was Ian Fleming's inspiration for the story, "Goldfinger," his wife said. Paul Musco eventually became head of the company's silver and platinum division in New Jersey. It was at that company's Chicago office where the couple met. They moved to California in 1972.While Musco lacked a formal education, he learned from and worked with the best minds he could find. He also passed on that focus and grit to many hundreds of his employees."I started working for Paul at the bottom when I was 18," said John Larch, now CEO and President of Gemini Industries, the precious metal recovery company that Musco, his wife and two associates founded. "I learned from watching him and how he treated everyone just like he learned from his mentors. He put his trust in us because we had trust in him. Hardly anyone has ever left the company."While much of the Muscos' generosity was publicly known, many small kindnesses were performed every year. They endowed a Chair in Italian Studies and included funds for travel courses at Chapman University. Paul Musco made sure his employees enjoyed profit-sharing. He funded the rebuilding of homes in Mexico after a devastating earthquake. He took all his employees and their families to Disneyland and made sure they all had enough spending money to buy toys and treats for the kids.In recognition of his lifelong humanitarian outreach, Paul Musco was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, one of the nation's most prestigious awards. The medal celebrates inspiring Americans who are selflessly working for the betterment of the United States and its citizens and includes several of the country's past presidents and industry leaders.Along with his devoted wife, Marybelle, Musco is survived by daughter, Kristine David (William) of Warwick, RI., and son, Paul Sebastian Musco, MD, (Lisa) of Hope, RI. He also leaves six grandchildren, Jenna Musco Pavlowich, twins Christopher and Cameron Musco and Brett Musco, Alex David, of Los Angeles, Gabriella David Carlino (Steven) of Smithfield, RI., and two great-grandchildren: Ava Nicole Musco and Ash Pavlowich.The family is to gather privately. A celebration of life will be held at a future date as health conditions permit.