Pagliassotto Funeral

Welcome & Prayer

Obit:

Albert was born September 21, 1945, in Los Angeles, California to Natale and Jenny Pagliassotto.  He joined the United States Air Force in 1966 and retired after a 20-year career.  He continued his education at the University of Maine at Bangor.  He completed his education by receiving degrees in music and the Administration of Justice at Allan Hancock College in Lompoc.

Formerly stationed at Loring Air Force Bas in Maine, he has been a resident of Lompoc since 1973.  He worked as a security integration engineer with Martin-Marietta and Northrup-Grumman.

Albert was a member of The Village Chapel in Vandenberg Village.  He was a talented musician and enjoyed running, cycling, and model trains.  He earned a second-degree black belt in Judo.

Albert is survived by his wife of 55 years, Judy Pagliassotto, his son and daughter-in-law Anthony and Kristi Pagliassotto of Sacramento, California, his daughter and son-in-law HeidiMarie Pagliassotto and Scott Silver of Los Angeles, his grandsons Luca and Enzo, his brother and sister-in-law George and Nada Pagliassotto of Los Angeles and his nephews Adam and Brian.

Scripture

Eulogy

I always loved my interactions with Al

He was a good story teller

Most people who have retired from the military are

He would always sit in the back of the church unless he was encouraged by Flo to sit in the front

When he first started coming I thought I was offended because he got up and walked out

But then he kept coming back the next week and kept getting up and leaving

I was developing a complex

This guy didn’t like me and he was mad at his wife for forcing him to come

But then I started to learn the story of how amazing this man really was

Al was a quiet guy

Some would say because Judy was talking

But when he spoke it was profound

He was faithful and consistent

They didn’t coffee for our church

When Judy was having all of her ear issues and surgeries he would show up and do it

You never knew about all of the health issues he was struggling through

Most of his adult life he dealt with health issues that were misdiagnosed

Things that today’s medicine would’ve caught with an easy test

He endured years of treatments that probably made his situation worse

Even up to this year when they did surgery and they removed four feet of a lower intestine that should’ve been only 12 inches

He suffered years but if you ran into him on the street he was the same old Al

He loved his wife and family

He loved his country

He enjoyed music and cars

Message

Can anything be more ironic than the lives of our nation’s military? They love America, so they spend long years in foreign lands far from her shores. They revere freedom, yet they sacrifice their own so that others may be free. They defend their own right to live as individuals, yet yield their individuality in that cause. Perhaps, most paradoxically of all, they value life, yet so bravely they ready themselves to die in the service of their country.

Like so many, Al quietly served his country, looked out for his battle buddies, and managed to survive the untold horrors of the war. He returned a bona-fide hero.

In the Bible, God is often referred to as the “Lord of Hosts”. This word “hosts” means “armies”. God is our heavenly Commander. Jesus had an encounter with a soldier, a Roman Centurion, who asked Him to heal a servant, and Jesus said He’d not seen such faith in all Israel. I’d like to think that soldiers are especially capable of trusting their chain-of-command. I’ve seen foxhole faith that fades with time, but I’ve also seen a lasting trust in God that prevails throughout the years, in times of great strife and in times of peace.

Those who spend time in military service have an uncomfortable life—at times we begin to think that being miserable is part of the mission. Field duty is usually an ordeal: Eating C-Rations/MREs, cleaning weapons, guard duty, braving the harsh elements, long hours, and living in a tent. The Apostle Paul never served in the military, but as a tentmaker he knew what it was like to live a nomadic life under harsh conditions.

2 Corinthians 5:1–2 ESV

For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling,

2 Corinthians 5:4 ESV

For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

2 Corinthians 5:6–7 ESV

So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight.

For troops on deployment, a tent is frequently “home sweet home”. It’s all part of military duty, but no one lives permanently in a tent. It may SEEM like it at times, but the truth of the matter is, that at the end of every field exercise soldiers return to their barracks or quarters, not a GP-Medium.

That is exactly the word-picture Paul is presenting. Paul is saying that our bodies are a lot like tents. They provide a place to live, but only for a brief portion of our existence. Like the canvas of a tent, our flesh is just a temporary structure. Paul’s idea of death is breaking down a tent and folding it up, in preparation for moving into a permanent facility. At the end of life, we can add these words to our obituary: “TO BE CONTINUED”. There’s more to come.

God offers the confident assurance that when our earthly existence is over, we will leave our tents and dwell forever in our permanent home. This life is the only life we’ve known, but there’s another life coming. Death is merely a transition in life, like getting orders for a new assignment. We who remain are left with sorrow, but we find comfort in the certainty of reunion and rest. We who are remain, grieve--but with hope. To be absent from the body--this temporary tent--is to be at home with the Lord.