Obituary for William Orlando MASSENA – Mr. William Howard Orlando, 80, passed comfortably in his sleep on July 20, 2018 at the St. Regis Rehab Center where he had been receiving exceptional care. Bill was born on April 20, 1938 in Altoona, Pennsylvania, the son of the late William Anthony and Margaret (Witt) Orlando. He was schooled in New Jersey and graduated from Newark Technical School.
He served his country first in the US Army Reserves before enlisting in the US Air Force and serving for four years until his honorable discharge. After his discharge, he promptly married his wife, Frances Lucille DiBartolo, who was born in Gagliano, Sicily. They shared 57 years of marriage and were blessed with three sons that he could not be prouder of and was sure to tell everyone so.
After a brief stay in Newark, they moved to South Toms River, New Jersey, where they spent 48 years raising their family before retiring and moving to Massena to spend the rest of their years with their children and grandchildren. Bill was an electrical designer and professional musician playing the guitar and vibraphone. He owned several businesses and worked at Princeton University, Bell Laboratory, and retired from MTI Precision Products.
He was the epitome of a father with filled ingenuity and he exposed his children to everything he could. He took them camping, fly fishing, hunting, and even taught them computer programming, carpentry, and design skills. Summer weekends were spent at seasonal campsites in a pop-up camper even though they were three hours from home.
He was an avid cook and those skills were passed on as well. Although he was not an athletic person, he made sure his boys played Little League. He even made effort to take the family skiing and actually skied himself, with Frances as well.
He was also an avid gardener relishing in the bounty of his labor every summer including this one. He had an exceptional sense of humor and always used it. In his retirement, besides gardening, he was consumed by model railroading in several scales and he continued to use his design skills in his basement on several layouts.
He enjoyed assisting at the model railroader’s yearly show at the Massena Arena. He was also a member of the Knights of Columbus. He will be forever remembered and missed by his loving wife, Frances; his sons, Dr. William A. Orlando and his wife, Debbie, and their children, Nicole Marie of Nashville, Tennessee, William Howard, Jennifer Lynn, and Jamie Ann Orlando of Massena; Dr. Leonard Orlando and companion, Tracie Barnes of Massena; Dr. Edward Orlando and his wife, Jennifer, and their children, Alyssa Josephine and Sierra Eleanor Orlando of Port Jervis, New York; and many friends.
In addition to his parents, William and Margaret, he was predeceased by his only brother, Edward Orlando. At his request, there will be no services at this time and his family requests their privacy during this time of healing. Order Flowers Affiliations Air Force Army Reserves Knights of Columbus 3rd Degree The insignias listed here may be subject to copyright and / or trademarked.
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