U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-CurrentJENNING - Alvin G. 10/5/2001
Alvin G. Jenning of Orchard Park, 83, a retired crane operator and a veteran of World War II, died unexpectedly Tuesday (Oct. 2, 2001) in Mercy Hospital.
Born and reared in Buffalo, Jenning joined the Army in 1941 and served in the 16th Armored Engineer Battalion, assigned to the First Armored Division. He served as morning report clerk for the battalion, and his assignment took him to Italy, Africa and Ireland.
After earning the rank of sergeant, he left the service in 1945 and married Doris M. Winslow in 1946. The next year, he built his family's new home in West Seneca, and in 1958 moved his family to a home he built in Orchard Park.
For 44 years, he worked as a crane operator at Bethlehem Steel's Hot Strip Mill slab yard. He was a member of the United Steelworkers of America.
After retiring in 1980, Jenning devoted time to gardening and construction, building a retaining wall on his property along Smokes Creek. Surviving in addition to his wife are two daughters, Betty Lou Vrooman of Alexandria Bay and Susan K. Jenning-Smith of Houston; a sister, Dorothy Henry of Hamburg; two brothers, Frank of West Seneca and George Jennings of Houston; and four grandchildren.
Services will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday in St. Peter's Church, 1475 Orchard Park Road, West Seneca.
LEITZEN - John G. 10/5/2001
John G. Leitzen, 83, a retired coin machine operator, died unexpectedly Tuesday (Oct. 2, 2001) in his Town of Tonawanda home.
Born in Buffalo, he was a graduate of Seneca Vocational High School and served in the Merchant Marine on Long Island during World War II.
After the war, he founded his own company, Jack's Service, and maintained dozens of coin-operated amusement machines in the area. He retired in 1980.
As a young man, he flew a private plane. The owner of a vintage Oldsmobile, he was an automobile enthusiast.
He and Dorothy Doxie were married in 1953.
Surviving in addition to his wife are a son, James E. of Daytona Beach, Fla.; two daughters, Carol Ann Hughes of Punta Gorda, Fla., and Betty Ann of Columbus, Ohio; four grandchildren; and 11 great-grandchildren.
Services will be private.
LORENZ - Eleanor Leona 10/5/2001
TOWN OF NIAGARA - Services for Eleanor Leona Lorenz, a retired office manager, will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday in Otto Redanz Funeral Home, 2215 Military Road. Burial will be in Riverdale Cemetery, Lewiston.
Mrs. Lorenz, 86, died Wednesday (Oct. 3, 2001) in Mount St. Mary's Hospital, Lewiston, after a brief illness.
Born Eleanor Wilcox in Niagara Falls, she was a graduate of Kelly Business Institute. She worked for a few years in the grocery department at Jenss Department Store on Main Street, and later became office manager at Niagara Wholesale Groceries. She retired from there after 20 years of employment.
Her husband, Harold, died in 1998.
She is survived by a daughter, Joyce V. Bowles of Franklinville; a brother, Eugene M. Wilcox of Niagara Falls; two grandsons; and three great-grandchildren.
MASOCCO - Lena 10/5/2001
WHEATFIELD - Lena
Masocco, who once owned a pizzeria and later tended produce at a local supermarket chain, died Wednesday (Oct. 3, 2001) in Mount St. Mary's Hospital, Lewiston. She was 81.
Born in Pittsburgh, she moved to Niagara Falls with her family when she was a child. In 1940, the former Lena Capolupo married Mario Masocco in a double wedding ceremony that included her twin sister, Edith, and Edith's husband. Mario Masocco died in 1963.
The Masoccos owned and operated Mario's Pizzeria in Lewiston during the early 1960s. In the late 1960s and 1970s, Mrs. Masocco worked in the produce department at Tops Markets in Lewiston and the Town of Niagara. She was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Niagara Falls and its Madonna de Carmela Society. She loved to cook and travel.
Survivors include a daughter, Marietta Janik of Niagara Falls; a son, Al of La Habra Heights, Calif.; a brother, Sam Capolupo of Niagara Falls; a sister, Violet Mastromatteo of Florida; and three grandchildren.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 9:15 a.m. Saturday in St. Joseph Catholic Church, 1413 Pine Ave. Burial will be in St. Joseph's Cemetery.
PASCOE JR. - Joseph W., owned Perry Herald 10/5/2001
PERRY - Joseph Wills Pascoe Jr., former owner of the Perry Herald, died Wednesday (Oct. 3, 2001) in Wyoming County Community Hospital, Warsaw, after a brief illness. He was 88.
Born in Trenton, N.J., Pascoe earned a degree in journalism from Rutgers University in 1936. He was the editor of the Delaware Valley News in Frenchtown, N.J., from 1936 to 1946.
In 1946, he moved to Perry and purchased the Perry Herald. The paper merged with the Perry Record in 1954 but kept the Perry Herald name. In 1958, it was honored as the best weekly newspaper in upstate New York.
During the 1960s, Pascoe launched the Perry Shopper. In 1975, he retired and sold the paper.
He was the widower of Margery Smith, Eleanor Farnan and Arlene Head.
Pascoe was active in the Perry Rotary Club for many years, was a 50-year member of Constellation Lodge 404, F&AM, in Perry, and was active in the Merchants Association.
He also was active in the Republican Party for many years.
After his retirement, he spent his winters in Lake Placid, Fla., and summers in Perry.
He enjoyed swimming, hunting and golf. Pascoe was an honorary life member of the Silver Lake Golf Club.
He had been a member of First United Methodist Church of Perry since 1946.
Survivors include three sons, Robert of Buffalo, William of Ocala, Fla., and John of Lakewood; 12 grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.
Services will be held at 3 p.m. Saturday in First United Methodist Church of Perry. Burial will be Glenwood Cemetery.
ROTHFUS - Lucile W., active volunteer 10/5/2001
A memorial service for Lucile W. Rothfus, a retired bookkeeper and an active volunteer worker, will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. in Calvary Episcopal Church, 20 Milton St., Williamsville.
She died Aug. 23, 2001, in the home of her daughter in Silver Spring, Md., after a short illness. She was 84.
Born in Buffalo, the former Lucile Willis attended Campus School and was a graduate of Lafayette High School.
She worked as a bookkeeper for Callahan Hydraulics for many years, retiring in the mid-1980s.
She served as a volunteer for Meals on Wheels, Life and Death Transition, Hospice Buffalo and the Episcopal Church Home. She continued to work as a volunteer at age 80, giving passes to visitors at Buffalo General Hospital.
She also was active in Calvary Episcopal Church, Williamsville.
A longtime resident of Williamsville, she had lived in Maryland for the past two years.
Surviving are three daughters, Wendy L. of Williamsville, Holly Kolodczak of Newark, Del., and Andrea Wrightson of Silver Spring; their father, Hayd F. of West Amherst; and six grandchildren.
TERROR - Memorial will honor a life cut short by 10/5/2001
Mourners filing into St. Gabriel's Catholic Church on Monday to say their final goodbyes to Leonard M. Castrianno will see three roses standing together - in solidarity - on a table in front of the altar.
A white rose, signifying innocence, will represent Castrianno, 30, presumed dead in the World Trade Center attacks Sept. 11.
A pink rose will represent his sister Carolyn, 33, who died in 1996 after suffering from bronchial and heart problems.
And a yellow rose will represent their grandfather Leonard C. Castrianno, who died about 10 years ago.
"We want them all to be remembered, and we hope they're all together somewhere," said Leigh Macadlo, the missing man's twin sister.
Nearby, mourners will see a bouquet of flowers in shades of purple, the color that has been used to represent the World Trade Center victims. "We don't want to forget the other families," Macadlo said. "We know what they're going through. We're all going through this together."
The memorial Mass for Castrianno will be offered at 9:30 a.m. in St. Gabriel's, 5271 Clinton St. in Elma.
Leonard M. Castrianno, a 1989 graduate of Williamsville East High School, worked as a communications specialist at Cantor Fitzgerald, setting up e-mail contacts with foreign business capitals, starting at about 7 a.m. each day in his office on the 105th floor of the World Trade Center.
On Sept. 11, his roommate, after hearing about the initial crash, reached him on his cell phone shortly before 9 a.m. The last activity on Castrianno's cell phone was at 9:04, one minute after the South Tower was struck.
Five family members have been to ground zero in lower Manhattan, to seek some closure, to see the scene where they know their beloved Lenny must have died. But they're too devastated to talk about that scene.
"This is our closure," Macadlo said of Monday's service. "This is going to be our time to move forward. I don't know how, but we're going to try to move forward."
Family members want people to remember the Leonard Castrianno they knew: His wit. His smile. His generosity. His ability to spend hours on the floor, playing games with his seven nieces and nephews. His love of New York City, including its off-Broadway plays and its Italian food. His willingness to help people with their computers and stereo equipment. His plans to finish his electrical engineering degree and move up the ladder at Cantor Fitzgerald. His tongue-in-cheek plans to buy a BMW and retire at age 45 . . .
Surviving are his parents, Patricia J. Noah of Buffalo and Leonard A. Castrianno of Williamsville; two sisters, Lynn Marie Castrianno Galante of Omaha, Neb., and Leigh Macadlo of Cheektowaga; his grandmother, Catherine of Williamsville; his stepmother, Nancy; a stepbrother, John Henderson; and a stepsister, Janet Henderson.
Monday, those survivors and other mourners will see many images of the smiling Lenny Castrianno, in a large photo on display in front of the church and in collages of family photos showing his ever-present grin.
It was a smirky grin, family members remembered. When he walked into a room, he always brought that smile with him. And it will be there Monday for all to see.
"I want the people at the service to feel him, what he was like, to feel his presence, and to know he was loved by so many people," his twin sister said.
