My Dad

[ponch]

I have been out of contact for the most part for the last few weeks. My dad fell and got a stroke, from which he got pneumonia and never recovered. I have been back and forth to NY from Iowa and I am back again for the funeral. My Dad, Anthony Lagnese, was born February 8, 1925 in Westbury NY, the 6th child to Italian immigrants. Dad left high school to join the Army Air Corps at the age of 18. He was a tail gunner in B-17 and flew 35 missions over Germany. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with 3 oak leaf clusters and the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 4 bronze service stars. After the war, he worked for the County of Nassau as a Greenskeeper and did that job for 39 years. He married my mom, Florence See, in 1958, and had two sons, Anthony and James, as well as two stepdaughters, Florence and Patricia. Dad was a quiet and reserved guy. He rarely drank, never got into trouble, and lived a respectable life. He was my father and a great dad. I will miss my Saturday morning phone conversations with my Dad, his counsel, and his love. He was preceded in death by his wife Florence, and is survived by his sons and stepdaughters, 14 grandchildren, 6 great-grandchildren and his wife Doris. I also want to add that Dad rode a Triumph Tiger back in the day, and if it weren't for that, I probably wouldn't be riding, so remember your influence. Thanks.
Jim