SPRINGFIELD – Louis J. Pantuosco, 93, passed into Eternal Life on Thursday, April 25, 2013, surrounded by his loving family. He was born in West Albany, New York on June 7, 1919, a beloved son of the late Guiseppi and Brigitta (Barbieri) Pantuosco and moved to East Springfield in 1950. He served his country in the United States Marine Corps at Guadalcanal during World War II and attained the rank of Sergeant. He was a longtime electrician for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 35, retiring in 1982. He was a communicant of Mary, Mother of Hope Church in East Springfield and a member of the Knights of Columbus Council 2071. He leaves his beloved wife and best friend, Antoinette R. “Babe” (Scaringe) Pantuosco and they were blessed with over 67 years of happiness.
Louis is better known as the patriarch of the Pantuosco soccer family of Western Mass. Louis and the Pantuosco family are also synonymous with Cathedral High School. Since the opening of Cathedral on Surrey Road in 1959 Louis has had a child or grandchild attending, playing, coaching or teaching continuously there. To honor Louis and Babe Pantuosco, Cathedral High School will present them on May 18th, 2013 with the Cathedral Service Award for the family’s involvement for the past 54 years.
Besides his wife, he leaves: his seven loving children, Barbara of Agawam, Joseph, (Pat) of Hampden, LouAnne Tremblay of Springfield, Francis, (Robin), of New Hartford, CT, Michael, (Luci), of Ellington, CT, John, (Shelly), of Somers, CT, and Dr. Louis, (Sherri), of Lake Wiley, SC; his 15 cherished grandchildren, Dr. Lynn Pantuosco Hensch, (Jamie), Gina Pantuosco Orszulak, (Chris), Toni Pantuosco, Kristin Tremblay, Jesse and Luke, Carla, Andrew and Nick, John, Jr., Lucia and Joey, and Alissa, Samantha and Angela Pantuosco; his six cherished great-grandchildren, Alex, Drew and Charlie Pantuosco Hensch, and Joe, Elizabeth, and Ryan Pantuosco Orszulak; his dear sister-in-law, Anna Whipple of Albany, NY; and his many dear nephews and nieces. Besides his parents, he was also predeceased by his dear brother and sister, Vito and Angelina. His funeral will be held on Monday morning, April 29, 2013, beginning at the St. Pierre – Phaneuf Springfield Chapels, (413-737-1177), 7 Chapin Terrace, Springfield, MA 01107, (funeral home will open at 9:30 a.m.), followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. in Mary, Mother of Hope Church, 840 Page Boulevard, East Springfield, MA 01104. His burial with Military Honors will follow the Mass at 1 p.m. in the Chapel at the Massachusetts Veterans’ Memorial Cemetery, 1390 Main Street, Agawam, MA 01001. His family will receive friends at the funeral home on Sunday, April 28, 2013, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. His family has requested that memorial donations be made in his memory to either the Shriners Hospital for Children, (Springfield), 516 Carew Street, Springfield, MA 01104, or to the Wounded Warrior Project, National Processing Center, PO Box 758516, Topeka, KS 66675-8516. For more details, please visit:www.stpierrephaneuf.com