Dominic J. "Coach Dom" D’Angelo

Dominic J. "Coach Dom" D'Angelo, 87, of Wells, Maine, died Feb. 12, 2011, at the Kennebunk Nursing Home, Kennebunk, Maine, of heart failure following an extended illness.

He was born in Southington, June 17, 1923, the eldest son of Alfonso D'Angelo and Katherine Mazzera D'Angelo. He was married to the late Shirley Beck D'Angelo for 51 years, retiring to Maine in 1987, and has resided for the past several years with his daughter, Susan D'Angelo Sullivan. A graduate of Lewis High School in Southington, D'Angelo was a star athlete in football, basketball and baseball; he captained the football and basketball teams under legendary coach Joe Fontana, also attended Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia, where he played quarterback and defensive end. He was a combat medic in World War II, serving with the 8th Armored Division under General George Patton. He was awarded the Bronze Star for Valor when he rescued wounded soldiers trapped by deadly artillery fire. He was later part of the force that liberated the German death camp at Dachau.
Following the war, D'Angelo graduated from Columbia University and returned to athletics by playing with the Southington Gems Semi-Professional Football Club. He accepted a graduate assistant coaching post at Stetson University in Florida, then came back to Connecticut to become director of the Southington YMCA. During his 15 years in that post he founded Southington's Midget Football and Biddy Basketball leagues.
He accepted a faculty and coaching position at St. James School of Berlin, then served as athletic director and coach of soccer, basketball and baseball, and founding coach of football at Laurel Crest Academy in Bristol.
D'Angelo joined the faculty and coaching staff of Southington High School, becoming Head football coach at Southington in 1967. His Blue Knights teams compiled a record of 169-71 over 20 seasons with multiple league championships. In 1972, he was named National High School Coach of the Year for the Eastern United States, and Northeastern States Coach of the Year in 1973. He also served for a number of years as the school's athletic director, overseeing many state championship programs.
He retired in 1987 to spend more time with his wife, Shirley, as she battled cancer, but could not give up athletics entirely. He became an assistant football coach at Kennebunk (Maine) High School, where he coached alongside his eldest grandson, Robert Sullivan, until 2009. He served as well as head baseball coach of rival Wells (Maine) High School, where he coached another grandson, Christopher Sullivan.
Following Shirley's death in 1999, he returned to Connecticut and assisted with the Granby High School Baseball team, there coaching grandsons, Michael and Matthew D'Angelo. He later wed a former high school sweetheart, Barbara Lewis McNerney, who died in 2008.
D'Angelo received numerous athletic and civic awards, and was saluted for his devotion to youth athletics by the governors of Connecticut and Maine with "Coach Dom Day" proclamations. He served for 25 years on the Southington Parks Commission, and helped form the Southington Gridiron Club. Last fall, he was an inaugural inductee to the Southington Sports Hall of Fame.
D'Angelo was predeceased by wives Shirley and Barbara; and by a sister, Anne D'Angelo Chicone.

He is survived by his brother, Alphonse J. D'Angelo, of Southington; daughter, Susan (D'Angelo) Sullivan and husband, Roger, of Wells, Maine; and son, Robert J. D'Angelo and wife, Teri, of Granby; grandson, Robert J. Sullivan and wife, Erica, of Kennebunk, Maine; and great-grandchildren, Stephanie and Zackary; grandson, Christopher M. Sullivan, of Dover, N.H.; and great-grandson, Nicholas; grandson, Michael A. D'Angelo, of Avon; grandson, Matthew J. D'Angelo, of Granby; and great-grandson, Jayden; granddaughter, Nicole D'Angelo Joyce and husband, Matthew, of Avon.

The funeral was held Feb. 16, 2011, at Della Vecchia Funeral Home, Southington. A Mass was held at St. Thomas Church, Southington, Feb. 17, 2011, followed by internment at the St. Thomas Cemetery, Southington. Memorial donations may be made to the D'Angelo Memorial Fund, c/o Robert Sullivan at Kennebunk High School, Fletcher Street, Kennebunk, ME 04043.