John A. Salvaggio

John was born in Brooklyn, NY, the second of four brothers, on March 27, 1932 to Raphael Salvaggio and Viola Porcelli Salvaggio. He attended Haaren High School in Mid-Manhattan, where he earned the nickname "Handstand Happy" as parallel bar specialist and Captain of the Gym Leaders Corps. He also was a member of the soccer team and the glee club. John graduated in 1949, just months after meeting his future wife of nearly 65 years, Eleanore Ann Ford. They met at a birthday party, where - according to family lore - John, whose gymnastics rhythm extended to the dance floor, asked if anyone knew the Samba, and she volunteered.

Following high school, John attended City College of New York, focusing on Mechanical Engineering. After graduating in 1953, he joined the United States Air Force and served at Yokota USAF Base in Japan. Many letters were exchanged between John and Ellie, and not long after he returned, he proposed and she accepted. They were married in March 1957 and settled down in Long Island, NY, where their first two children were born, daughter Brenda and son John.

John began his engineering career after the Service with Airborne Instruments Laboratory in Mineola, NY. He and his family moved to Wayne, PA in 1963 when he was hired by Burroughs Corporation and assigned to their Howellville facility in Paoli. During his years at Burroughs, he began as Chief Test Engineer; was promoted to Supervisor of Engineering and Electronics in the Defense, Space and Special Systems Group; and then Manager of Product Assurance at the Downingtown Plant. He went on to work for Exxon Office Systems in Lionville as Director of Product Assurance, and later became Vice President of Operations for Okidata in Princeton, NJ, travelling back to Japan when he visited the production plants there. After Okidata, he worked at Unisys Corporation on Swedesford Road until he retired in 1995.

During the early days of John's career in Pennsylvania, he attended night school at Villanova University and earned his BS in Electrical Engineering in 1966. By then, he and Ellie had two more children, daughter Diane and son Paul. Relatives and friends from nearby and New York often came over for meals, bocce in the backyard, and visits to Valley Forge Park, just down the road from their home. Later, John took up golf and became a member of Glenhardie Country Club, where he served as president from 1984-85. Over the years, John played hundreds of golf courses all over the country as well as some across the pond, most notably St. Andrews in Scotland. He also enjoyed sharing the fun side of his engineering expertise with his children, including building model rockets and regular trips to Edmunds Scientific for new activities and discoveries, and fishing. As a grandpa, PopPop or Pops, as John was affectionately called, brought fun and love to his nine precious grandchildren: Matthew, Mark, Melanie, Nicole, David, Christian, Gina, Henry and Viola. He also had two great-grandchildren: Caroline and David.

Sadly, John was preceded in death by his dear wife Ellie three years ago. He is survived by his four children, his nine grandchildren, and his two great-grandchildren as well as his youngest brother, Anthony Salvaggio, aged 82.

A viewing is scheduled for Friday, November 8, from 6-8 pm at Alleva Funeral Home, 1724 East Lancaster Avenue, Paoli, PA. A funeral mass will take place 11 am Saturday, November 9 at The Church of St Monica, 63 Main Avenue, Berwyn, PA, with internment at Calvary Cemetery in Conshohocken. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested gifts in memory of John to the Dementia Society of America at dementiasociety.org