Mr. Patrick James Funiciello

He was born March 5, 1943, in Ballston Spa, N. Y., to the late Pasquale and Pauline Funiciello. He spent a happy, active childhood there, eating copious helpings of Italian food at family gatherings, getting into good trouble with fellow members of the Pleasant Street gang and his many friends and classmates, lettering in three sports at Ballston Spa High School, and serving as vice president of the student government and president of his class.

He later attended Bryant College in Providence, Rhode Island, where he majored in marketing, served in various student and professional associations, including as president of the Chi Gamma Iota Fraternity, and returned home to the Ballston Spa-Saratoga Springs area every summer to earn enough money to continue his studies. He attended U.S. Air Force officer training school and was commissioned a second lieutenant.

In 1971, he was assigned to Clear AFB, just outside of Fairbanks, Alaska, where in addition to skillfully performing his duties as Executive Officer under Aerospace Command, he sang and played guitar in a rock & roll band and played softball under the midnight sun after the bars closed. He and his brother sang in harmony anytime and anyplace they were able, carrying on a long tradition of weekly food-and-song gatherings at the home of Grandma Maria Petralia on the banks of the Hudson River in Schuylerville, N.Y.

He was honorably discharged with the rank of Captain in 1972 to dedicate himself full-time to studying law. He received his Doctor of Jurisprudence from St. Mary’s University School of Law in San Antonio in 1975 and began practicing family law thereafter and served as the president of the Northeast Tarrant County Bar Association. He practiced law in San Antonio and the Mid-cities Dallas-Fort Worth area until his retirement in 2010.

As a lawyer, he often took on cases based on his desire to help those who were most vulnerable and cared deeply about protecting the individual rights of his clients. One of his proudest moments was winning a workers’ compensation settlement for a group of Tongan baggage handlers at DFW Airport, for which he was honored as a protector of the Tongan community at a cultural ceremony.

One of his most endearing qualities was his genuine desire to hear people out, no matter what direction a conversation might be taking. He was an exceptional listener and a veritable encyclopedia of comedic songs and quotations from a wide range of cultural ephemera from the 1950s onward. Pat was pre-deceased by his parents, Pasquale and Pauline Funiciello. He is survived by his wife, Joy Funiciello; brother and wife, John and Stephanie Funiciello; sister and husband, Rosemary and Ransom Wright; children, Patrick (Silvia Tucci) Funiciello and Lisa (Jim Malarkey) Funiciello; Stepdaughters, Coty Smith, Tammy Jaggears, and Kristy Dykgraaf; grandchildren Emma and Jack Malarkey, Leonardo Funiciello, Jacob, Joey, and Josh Jaggears, Kate, James, and Samantha Gray, Ryan and Cassie Scott; and great-grand-children, Sawyer and A.J. Dykegraaf, Teddy Mervosh, and Koltin, Maddy, Zach, Alex, and Pierce Jaggears.