Obituary for
Joseph Nicholas Pagnotta
Joseph Nicholas Pagnotta, 82, of Brooklyn, NY unexpectedly passed away on Monday, January 8, 2024.
Joseph was born on August 10, 1941, to Dominick and Ida Pagnotta in Brooklyn. After graduating from St. Michael’s Diocesan High School in 1959, Joseph entered the insurance industry where he served as a Claims Analyst and Manager for several large insurance firms, including Atlantic Mutual Life Insurance, Commercial Union, and Maryland Casualty. He was offered numerous opportunities to relocate for executive positions, but he loved his hometown too much to permanently move his family.
His expertise led him eventually to join Chess Personnel as a professional recruiter, helping others in the industry to find employment opportunities in the financial sector.
Always looking for an opportunity to learn and grow, Joseph decided that his future lay outside the white-collar world. Chess Personnel would be his final white-collar venture. Combining his business skills from corporate America with one of his favorite hobbies (animals), Joseph spent the next 25 years in the pet industry educating the public about tropical fish, birds, and small animals, while generating profits and expanding business development options for his employers. He retired in 2013.
In July 1960 Joseph met the love of his life, Angela Linzy, while the two worked at Atlantic Mutual. The two were married in 1963 and went on to have two children, Joseph (husband of Giuseppina) and Debra (wife of Donald). Joseph and Angela also have two grandchildren, Jacqueline and Michael, and two step-grandchildren, Amber and Michael.
As a young man Joseph would escape the streets of Bensonhurst to ride horses at the Jamaica Bay Riding Academy or at Prospect Park. He also enjoyed archery, bowling, basketball, fishing, and playing stickball on 79th St. He also loved doo-wop music, golf, and cars—especially cars. Rarely did a day pass without him washing, waxing, or detailing one of his cars. Although all his cars were his “pride and joy,” his two favorites by far were the 1957 Chevy he bought from his father in the early 1960s, and his 1976 Cadillac, which he would fill with his family for trips to Long Island, Utica, and Connecticut throughout the 1980s.
Joseph was predeceased by sisters Mary, Adeline, and Ida, and is survived by brother Saverio.
Services will be held at Scarpaci Funeral Home on January 14 from 3-8pm. Funeral Mass to be held at St. Francis Cabrini Church at 10:30am. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to St. Jude Children’s Hospital or St. Francis Breadline (135 W31st. NY, NY 10001), organizations Joseph felt strongly about.
