Services: The family will receive friends at the Yannantuono Funeral Home , 584 Gramatan Ave., Mt Vernon, NY, on Thursday, February 25th and Friday, February 26th from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Joseph’s Church in Bronxville, NY at 10am on Saturday, February 27, 2010 with interment following at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Hawthorne, NY.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to American Heart Association, 3020 Westchester Ave, Purchase, New York 10577 in memory of Pat Armentano. |
 Obituary:
Pat Armentano, 80, Chairman of the Board of Paraco Gas Corporation and a resident of Yonkers, New York passed away on February 20, 2010.
Pat was born on March 31, 1929 in Mount Vernon, New York, to Mary Fazio and Giuseppe Armentano of Sicily and Calabria, Italy. He was the youngest of 10 children.
Pat was a generous, kind, compassionate person who truly loved and lived life and all that it could offer. His success in business was a “rags to riches story.” Born from the Great Depression era, his success paled in comparison to his unique gift: a connection to people. His journey through life was a mosaic of fascinating stories and unique experiences, sometimes beyond belief! His gifts were apparent at the early age of nine when he purchased his mother a much-needed refrigerator with money he earned by shining shoes on the streets of the Bronx. At 16 he enlisted in the Marines and served in China. Upon leaving the military he worked as a milkman, a bread man and at various other jobs before marrying Rose Marie DiVenuto in September 1951 and starting a family. Shortly thereafter he landed a sales position with Forney Industries at age 25 where he was a top sales performer for the next 14 years. Sparked by the “entrepreneurial bug” in 1968, Pat risked everything he owned to start a welding supply and distribution business called Patsems Inc., based out of a tiny garage in Mount Vernon.
Despite lacking a formal education, he was a natural and talented entrepreneur and grew his company throughout the 1970s. In 1979, on instinct and with limited resources, he purchased Paraco Gas, a small propane marketer in Peekskill, New York. In 1986 the company purchased Suburban Propane on Long Island, which transitioned the business from a mom and pop to a corporate operation. Over the next 20 years, working with his wife and sons, the company grew into one of the nation’s premier propane retailers.
Throughout his life, Pat never forgot his roots, Italian heritage and commitment to those less fortunate. As Chairman of the Board at Paraco, he fostered a culture of giving back to the communities in which his company and employees lived and served by supporting many charitable and civic organizations. In what he felt was his most important role, patriarch of his family, Pat took great pride in teaching his life lessons and values to his children and grandchildren. He stressed a strong work ethic, personal responsibility and respect for oneself and others, all of which were the foundation of his truly genuine personality. Pat was predeceased by his loving wife Rose and is survived by his four sons- Joseph, Robert, Michael and John- 11 grandchildren, his brother Neal Armentano and sisters Betty Luma, Lou Pace and Anne Haslam.
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