Eugene Dominick Pascuzzi

Gene was born September 26, 1930, in Endeavor, Pennsylvania, the youngest of five boys, to Salvatore and Maria Grazia Pascuzzi who immigrated from Soveria Mannelli, Italy. He spent his younger years growing up in Warren, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Warren High School in 1949. Gene received his Bachelor of Arts in 1953 from the University of Pittsburgh where he attended on an Air Force ROTC scholarship. After receiving his BA and completing a year of law school, Gene was inducted into the United States Air Force at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama on March 29, 1955. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, serving a distinguished career, most notably in the Strategic Air Command. Gene served domestically and internationally, including a posting in Okinawa, and retired from active duty on June 30, 1975.

While stationed in 1963 at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas, Gene met and married Janice Bracken of Wichita Falls, and their son Gregory Eugene was born in California in 1963. After a 22-year Air Force career, including postings in California, Nebraska, and Arkansas, the family moved to Richardson, Texas. Gene’s second career was as an enrolled IRS agent, providing tax consulting and preparation services to individuals and small businesses within the Executive Tax division of H&R Block.

Gene and Jan enjoyed traveling and took several international trips over the years to Mexico, Italy, Spain, and England. While visiting Italy, they were able to visit Gene’s ancestral home in Soveria Mannelli, Italy, and visit with residents who still remembered his family. During their travels, they discovered the opportunity to serve as English conversationalists with an international language program in Spain known as “English Town”, which they were able to visit twice.

Gene’s passion was always family. His love for his family and his Italian heritage instilled a lifelong passion for genealogy and connecting with his extended family across the world. Gene spent years researching his family history, traveling to his ancestral home, and documenting the family tree for future generations. He created an extended family group on social media where he shared news of family history and family events. Gene was also a dedicated fan of the dance and sports careers of his grandchildren, Payton and Jackson. He was known to so many of the other families as he sat in the audience at dance recitals and galas or roamed the sidelines at soccer, baseball, basketball, and lacrosse games. To his family and friends, he will always be known as Gene, Geno, Uncle Jake, and his proudest nickname Papa.

Gene is survived by his wife of 60 years, Janice Pascuzzi, son Greg Pascuzzi and his wife Julie Pascuzzi, his grandchildren Payton and Jackson Pascuzzi, and countless nieces, nephews, and cousins. Gene was preceded in death by his father Salvatore Pascuzzi, his mother Maria Grazia Pascuzzi, and his brothers Santo, Natale, Ernest, and Robert.

Friends and family are invited to a memorial service on January 20, 2023, at 10 am at Sparkman Funeral Home in Richardson, Texas. Following the memorial service, Gene will be interred with military honors at the DFW National Cemetery.