Silvio M. Passalacqua

Silvio M. Passalacqua passed away peacefully Tuesday, January 9, 2024, as a result of complications from Parkinson's disease. He died 6 days shy of his 94th birthday. Silvio was best known for being the owner of Angelo's Restaurant, which was his family's life's work and still operates today more than 30 years after his retirement. He was all things to the restaurant, bartender, host, maintenance man, employer, and remodeler. Silvio could frequently be seen hosing down the sidewalks before opening or behind the bar in a shirt and tie, entertaining the blue-collar men who frequented, or in the dining room with guests and entertaining them and their children. Many people in this town in their sixties remember and know Silvio from coming to the restaurant with their parents in the 1960s and 1970s and as sort of a tribute, these people all still come to the restaurant with their families. Silvio made Angelo's a warm, fun place with a lot of passion and personality. He was a born entertainer and could tell a joke like no other and he entertained all in his restaurant. Silvio was part of the fabric of our town and it's best years when Washington was so vibrant with industry, and was a small bustling, thriving community particularly in the West End. Silvio was also instrumental in youth wrestling in the early 1960s. He joined forces with the founders of the program in its second or third year and was a fixture in wrestling for decades with the Brownson House, Trinity High School and the Old School Boys Wrestling Classic, where he served on the committee for more than 25 years. The Wrestling Classic is still a huge event and many of the people on the committee now were coached by Silvio or mentored by him when they wrestled in high school. Silvio wrestled for Washington High School and graduated in 1947. Simply, he became a big part of the growth of wrestling in Washington County. He mentored so many young men in so many ways. Silvio also invented a product for hand reloaders of ammunition for hunting called a K-Spinner. It was a device to clean the brass after the resizing procedure. He had a patent on the product, and it sold well in the 1960s and 1970s until more practical cleaning devices were developed. Silvio created it in his basement on his metal lathe. He had a lot of tools and knew how to use them. Silvio was a master at carpentry, building, remodeling and so many things with a tool in his hand. He built his house, he built a log cabin in the mountains, he built on to his house, he built the fire escape for the second and third floors of the building that housed Angelo's with no engineer involved. Silvio made furniture as well. He remodeled Angelo's on many different occasions over the years without closing, working in the mornings, and then coming back in for lunch with a tie on. Silvio had a work ethic and energy beyond comprehension. Silvio was a huge jazz enthusiast his whole life. He was a jazz vocalist and played the valve trombone. Silvio was the vocalist for the Johnny Cimino Orchestra, a big jazz band, which was comprised of a lot of first generation Italian- Americans in Washington. The band played all over the area for several years. They often played at the Alpine Club in Washington. This is where he met his wife, Patty, when he told a friend in the audience, "Go tell that lady I am going to marry her". His friend did and she gave him the thumbs up. And the rest is history as they say. Silvio was a fitness enthusiast. From water skiing to snow skiing to snowmobiling to hiking to jogging to lifting weights, he was always in shape. Silvio even broke an ankle at age 50 wrestling at a Trinity practice. Silvio owned a second home in the mountains near Seven Springs, where he spent a lot of time. It was his happy place to share with friends and family. He snow skied at Seven Springs and snow mobiled or four-wheeled all over the Laurel Highlands. Silvio skied until his mid-eighties and that was only stopped due to rotator cuff issues. He still had the conditioning to do so. Silvio was still actively building or remodeling something until 91 or so. Physicality was his mantra, and he was so proud of it. Silvio was also chairman of the board of the North Franklin Business and Recreation Improvement Authority, which developed Washington Square, the home of Falconi Field, Pony League Headquarters, Advanced Orthopedics, W & J fields, various other professional buildings, hotels and where his son, Michael eventually moved Angelo's Restaurant. Washington Square generates upwards of a million dollars for North Franklin Township and the Trinity School District. Before that development, the vacant land paid $1,700.00 in taxes per year. He also was instrumental in developing grants that developed the park and walking trails. Being on this board and experiencing the issues of North Franklin Township, Silvio ran for supervisor and was a North Franklin supervisor for 2 terms up until he was 91 years old. Many tough decisions had to be made as chairman of the board of supervisors to turn the township from being in very serious debt to having surpluses, which led to some of the great things happening today like building a new township building and with projects within the school district. He was a public servant with no personal agenda, just a passion for his community. Silvio was a fanatic about his yard. It was manicured beyond belief, and he never stood for a single weed to interfere with the look. He cut his grass at least two times a week and was always seen by neighbors outdoors, working in the yard. Some neighbors would gauge if he was in town or out of town if they didn't see him in the yard for a couple days. He was affectionately known as the "Lawn Ranger" by his neighbors. He was preceded in death by his father and mother, Angelo and Giacomina Passalacqua, the founders of Angelo's; and the love of his life, Patty Passalacqua, his wife and mother of his three devoted children, Michael (Trenna) (who now owns Angelo's), Michel of New Jersey, and Toni Ann of Colorado. He was also preceded in death by his siblings, Carmelina DeStefano, Mary Szopo, Nina Belcastro, and Jim Passalacqua; a beloved nephew, James Gerolium; and niece, Jackie Zanolli. In addition to his children, he leaves behind his loving partner of 25 years, Lois Malone; his grandson, Cole Bogert Passalacqua; stepgranddaughters, Taylor Klepsic (Lucas), Brooke Supernovich (Mike); step- great-granddaughters, Farrah and Fiona Supernovich; many nieces and nephews including his favorite nephew, who he provided caregiving to, James Belcastro; and other extended family. Lest we forget he is also survived by his cat, Earl, who has since been adopted by his son, Michael and wife, Trenna. Friends will be received from 1 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m. Monday, January 15 (Silvio's 94th Birthday) in the Warco-Falvo Funeral Home, Inc., Wilson at E. Katherine Avenues, Washington, S. Timothy Warco, owner / supervisor, S. Timothy Warco II, director, Holly Renay Warco, director, Park N. Crosier, director. A prayer service will be held at 9 a.m. Tuesday, January 16, in the funeral home, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. in Immaculate Conception Church, St. James Parish, 119 West Chestnut Street, Washington, with the Rev. Mike Zavage as celebrant. Burial will follow in Washington Cemetery beside his wife, Patricia. Following the burial, Angelo's Restaurant will host a celebration of his life in an open house forum from noon until 3 p.m. Friends, family, former employees, guests, and anyone he touched are invited to come and share in his life. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to the American Parkinsons Disease Association www.apdaparkinson.org or to Amedisys Hospice https://locations.amedisys.com/pa/washington/450-racetrack-rd.-amedisys-hospice-care Condolences may be expressed at www.WarcoFalvoFuneralHome.com