Pasquale 'Pat' Massetti, 94
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Pasquale (Pat) Massetti, 94, passed on Saturday, January 14, 2017, in Halifax Hospital in Daytona Beach, Fla., surrounded by his loving family.
He was loved by all who met this simple, down-to-earth man who always lived by the motto "treat people how you want to be treated." His family and good friends meant everything to him and he was a pillar of support when a helping hand was needed.
He was predeceased by his wife of nearly 70 years, Clara M. Centoconti Massetti, who passed August 2, 2014.
Born on April 22, 1922, to Matteo and Luigia Massetti, he traveled back and forth to Italy a couple times in his adolescent years while his mother was batting the influenza. In his late teen years, he met the "love of his life," Clara, on a trip to Hudson, N.Y., with some friends and soon proposed to her on Pearl Harbor Day (December 7, 1941).
After graduating from Pittsfield High in 1940, he was enlisted in the 88th Division Army Rangers and was deployed to North Africa and later Italy in World War II, where he was wounded in action just outside of Rome. Once back in the States, he was sent to Battle Creek Army Hospital in 1944 receiving the Purple Heart for his efforts. A year later he was married to his sweetheart and after a two-year ordeal and many surgeries returned to Pittsfield working at the General Electric plant until his retirement in 1978.
The couple had two sons, Robert J. and his wife Mary Jane of Port Orange, Fla., and Thomas D. Massetti of Ormond Beach; and a granddaughter, Lisa Massetti of Jacksonville, Fla.
After his years of golfing, his hobbies consisted just of watching TV, mainly sport and following his beloved Red Sox and New England Patriots. A man of few words indeed who lived modestly yet touched many lives with his quick remarks and demeanor. He will be sorely missed by so many who had the opportunity to know him.
Funeral notice: A graveside service for Pasquale A. (Pat) Massetti will be held Friday, January 20, 2017, at 11:30 a.m. at St. Joseph's Cemetery with Rev. Geoffrey J. Deeker, C.S.S., officiating. A reception will follow at Zucchini's Restaurant.
The family will receive relatives and friends at Dery Funeral Home from 10:30 to 11:15 a.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Veterans Foundation in care of the Funeral Home, 54 Bradford Street, Pittsfield.