Charles Paglieri's Eulogy – A humble man who never asked what’s in it for me

Died May 18, 2011

Euology written by Wayne Paglieri (son)

In 1998, Tom Brokaw wrote “The Greatest Generation” a book about my parent’s generation and how they bravely, forcefully but humbly met the challenges of World War II and the sacrifices they collectively endured.  The book chronicled the stories of some famous men, but also chronicled the wartime stories of other ordinary citizens.  My dad’s story wasn’t told in this book, but it could have been, for he (and my mom) embodied the central theme of the book – namely accepting responsibility and pursuing a selfless devotion to doing what’s good and right for society without regard to what was in it for him.  It formed his core belief throughout his entire personal and professional life.

His wartime story would be trumpeted and celebrated in today’s society, but back then he was simply doing his job.  He was a navigator in a B-17 bomber when on his 10th mission, his plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire over Romania.  With the plane on fire, the crew bailed out.  As he pulled the rip cord on his parachute after exiting the burning plane, he saw his plane explode – fortunate to escape with his life.  He was captured and was a POW for 6 months before being flown to safety from the POW camp when Romania capitulated in 1944. 

I heard that story a number of times over the years from my dad.  I think he was rightfully proud of his wartime contributions, but he never bragged about what he had done, never wrapped the flag around himself for those contributions because he knew he was just doing his bit along with so many others.  While very patriotic throughout his life in his own quiet way, he was cautious about our involvement in more recent wars.  He always recognized the terrible toll that war can take on its participants who are on the front lines vs. those advocating war back here in the safety and comfort of the US.

So back from the war, after a few twists and turns, this member of the greatest generation ultimately pursued a career in education.  During his 26 years at West Essex and his 15 years at Superintendant, West Essex flourished both academically and extracurricularly.  Having been a founding teacher at the inception of West Essex in 1960, I think he felt that he got in on the ground floor and helped build it into a special place.  I think I have heard from enough people over the years to correctly conclude that my dad did a great job at West Essex.  But like his war years, he performed his duties at West Essex without any regard for what was in it for him.  I think even those few who may have disagreed with his policies in school, never questioned his integrity and never questioned that he had the best interests of the students and teachers first and foremost in his mind.

But my dad’s interest in learning never ceased for all of his 90 years.  He was a voracious reader with a particular interest in history and current events.  I can’t say with certainty, but I think as you get older there is a natural tendency to focus on yourself and your needs, rather than those of society around you.  But even to the end, my father was more concerned about how current events would impact the greater good of this country and how it would affect future generations, rather than how a particular policy was going to impact him in his older years.

As Scott (my brother in law) noted, my dad’s quest for knowledge carried even into his 90th year, when he applied and was accepted into the doctoral program in Mathematics Education at Montclair State and started classes in January 2011.   Although he hadn’t been in a classroom setting since 1986, his math skills remained more than adequate to handle his doctoral class and his teaching views remained pertinent in 2011 despite his absence from the classroom since 1986.

When my dad decided to go back to school this year, I knew his math skills would be more than adequate to handle the class.  I knew that because roughly one year previously, he slipped and fell in the bathroom and banged his head.  As he was lying on the floor, he rationally decided that he should test his mind to make sure that he was still OK to get up after hitting his head.  For most of us in those circumstances, we might start reciting the days of the week or counting backwards or other such relatively simple mental activity.  My dad on the other hand chose to mentally go through the geometric proof of why the derivative of the tangent of the angle x = 1 over the cosine squared of the angle x.  Once he reasoned that out in his mind, he felt he still had sufficient mental capabilities to get up from the bathroom floor.

So here’s tribute to a great man who lived life humbly, yet fully for all 90 years.