Ridgefield resident Paul Anthony Tedesco, 87, has died

Paul Anthony Tedesco

Paul Anthony Tedesco entered into eternal life on Jan. 3 after a courageous fight against prostate cancer at his home in Ridgefield, CT.  He was 87. Paul’s fulfilling life began in Brooklyn, N.Y. on June 7, 1933, when he was born the only child to Paul M. and Caterina Tedesco. He played and rode his bike in the streets, breaking an arm and a leg in separate incidents, attended Catholic schools and took an oath with a buddy named Raymond to never curse – a promise he kept his entire life. 

Upon graduation from CCNY he and his lifelong friend Bill Lisecky joined the Navy and went to OCS in Newport, RI. On weekends, he took the long trip home to spend a day with his sweetheart, an Irish immigrant he met at a church dance who was the prettiest girl in the room. “Kathleen” and Paul were married and spent most of their first year together on Midway Island in the South Pacific, where Paul served active duty as a meteorology officer, leading to other Cold War duties in the Navy reserve, including electronic warfare officer, through the ‘60s and ‘70s until he was piped ashore with the rank of Commander. 

All that while, they raised four children in three NY towns: Tappan, Dobbs Ferry – nearly 20 years – and Armonk. They spent their new year’s eves at Floyd Bennett Field’s officers’ club in Brooklyn, and then with “the group,” six couples with childhood ties who took turns hosting the friends every few months. Nearly every Sunday dinner was at his parents’ home in Brooklyn –often combined with a group meet-up the Saturday night before – and for five straight summers, spent two weeks at the NJ Shore where he would grow a mustache and shave it off the day he got home.

Throughout this time, Paul earned his Master’s Degree and his career as a Civil Engineer took him to faraway places including Australia, Iran, Europe and Asia, where on one of his last trips, he was confined in his Jakarta hotel room for days as unrest gripped Indonesia. He also worked on domestic projects that included upgrading the Northeast Corridor for high-speed trains and, early in his career with American Electric Power, transmission towers in the Midwest. His last project came after his retirement from Gibbs & Hill (Raytheon), when he and Kathleen spent a winter in the Keys while he finished his firm’s project improving the powerlines leading into Key West.

Paul and Kathleen lived in Mashpee on Cape Cod for 10 years, hosting children and grandchildren for extended summer weekends of family fun. They attended Christ the King RC Church, where they served as Eucharistic Ministers and Paul was a K of C member and Kathleen volunteered at a local thrift shop. Paul became a regular golfer in his retirement and scored a hole in one at the Falcon Golf Club at Joint Base Cape Cod. They moved to Ridgefield in 2009. 

Paul is survived by his loving wife of 63 years, Catherine (nee Lavin), sons Kevin (Miriam), John (Susan), daughters Kathryn (Dan) and Susan (Ed) and 10 grandchildren. Funeral services will be held privately, donations can be made to Regional Hospice and Homecare, http://www.regionalhospicect.org. Kane Funeral Home, Ridgefield is in care of funeral arrangements.