John A Gagliastro

John A. “Jack” Gagliastro passed away unexpectedly on Monday, December 30, 2019 at UMass Medical Center at age 79.  Jack was, above all, a true family man.  He leaves his wife of 52 years, Kathleen (O’Connor), his daughter, Mary; three sons, Christopher and his wife, Ronda; John and his wife, Jennifer; Steven and his wife, Annie; his three cherished grandchildren, Anna, Jordan and Rocco; his brother, Francis and his wife, Gail, and many nieces, nephews and friends who mourn his loss.

Jack was the son of Clementine and Rocco Gagliastro of Worcester.  He graduated from St. John’s High School, Worcester Junior College and Clark University.  Intensely patriotic, Jack served in the US Coast Guard Reserve and traveled the world on the icebreaker, Eastwind during the Arctic Deployment and Operation Deep Freeze (Antarctica).

Jack worked for the Worcester Department of Public Health for 36 years, retiring as the Director of Public Health and was honored with a Key to the City of Worcester.  He enjoyed traveling, war movies, mowing the lawn, music, doing the daily crossword puzzle, making photo books and most of all feeding other people.  If you came into his house, you had to eat something.  It was best just to accept that and move forward. He loved his daily walks and coffee with “the guys,” his friends of close to 70 years. 

He was a lifelong member of Our Lady of Loreto parish and served as a lector for many years. Jack coached his sons in the Tom Ash baseball and Worcester Youth Football leagues and is fondly remembered by many of his former players. He was a member of the Pope John XXIII Council of the Knights of Columbus.

Jack was the strongest, most unselfish man with the biggest, warmest, most generous heart there ever was. His needs were always secondary to those of his family. He never met a dog, or a jelly donut, that he didn’t like.  He was happiest surrounded by his family, especially as proud Papa to his three bears. He leaves behind a legacy of love, faith and the world’s best meatballs.

Family and friends are invited to attend calling hours on Friday, January 3, 2020, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Mercadante Funeral Home & Chapel, 370 Plantation Street, Worcester.  The Funeral will be Saturday, January 4, 2020 from the funeral home with a Mass at 10 a.m. at Our Lady of Loreto Church in Worcester. Burial will be at St. John’s Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, and in honor of his niece, Karen, who predeceased him after battling breast cancer, donations may be made to Metavivor, an organization that dedicates 100% of donations to Metastatic Breast Cancer research at metavivor.org or Metavivor Research and Support, Inc, 1783 Forest Drive #184, Annapolis, MD 21401.