I work with Angelo back in the
80’s at Burdines. I was shock to find out about his passing. Living in Pompano also I would run into Angelo here and there . He was alway a friendly person to be around . He was also fun to work 
with.  I am so sorry again to run into the bad news of his passing.
I will miss him and also give my
deepest sorrow to his family.

I am writing this this tearfully, as I just learned that Angelo has passed. We became instantaneous friends the first day of sophomore (Richmond Hill ) year ,in our home room class. I guess ,I was just lucky enough to be sitting next to Angelo . We sustained our friendship all these years. Although, we only only saw each other a handful of times ...last being a few years ago , when we met for lunch in Delray, we spoke countless hours over the phone. So much of what I have read here is spot on. It was amazing that Angelo did remember everything. I counted on him for that , as Its difficult to remember all the nuances of the past...and yes I did ride in that 71 red Firebird . There wasnt any air conditioning . He liked to open the windows and feel the wind. Angelo was one of my dearest friends. I enjoyed all the times we shared together at school, the beach, reunions and especially , our phone calls. I loved him and will miss him . Angelo, you always told everyone that I was a great guy but, in my mind you were , truly, the great guy . God bless and keep you, my dear friend.

THIS IS THE EULOGY THAT I DELIVERED AT ANGELO SPOTO'S DECEMBER 29, 2017 MEMORIAL SERVICE.

     I'd like to thank all of you for coming today to remember Angelo.
 
     For those of you who may not know who I am, my name is Vincent Spoto - Angelo's baby brother. Myself and my middle brother Anthony reside in Long Island New York, and we came down to Florida earlier this week. As you can imagine (since Ange's passing on Christmas Eve), it has been a very hectic and emotional time; we would once again like to thank everyone for the outpouring of love and support - especially our cousin John Adamovich who has been nothing but incredible during this difficult time. We'd also like to thank Peter  Wilfert for all that he has done over the past few months in helping Angelo after he had his first stroke, and being there for Tanya as well.

     Together with my brother Anthony, growing up having Angelo as an older sibling was,  well ... let's just say - it was quite the experience.'

     You know, it is somewhat ironic that we are gathered here today, December 29th - sharing the memory of Angelo - as this would have been our mom's 92nd birthday. I know that our Mom is watching down on us right now - and together with our Dad, reminding Angelo to take his vitamins, clean his room and not leave any dirty dishes in the sink, etc.

     When I think of and remember Angelo, there are a few distinct words or phrases that come to mind.

     The first is POLITICALLY CONSERVATIVE. Ange was never shy about voicing his political opinions and espousing his right wing conservative points of view. The phrase political correctness was not in his vocabulary! For those of us who knew Angelo, it's fair to say that he made Ronald Regan seem like a radical, screaming heart liberal. I remember when I was growing-up with Angelo, he would: * (i) frequently read books written by William F. Buckley Jr., (thinking back on it now, that was quite the read for a 13 year-old!); * (ii) he'd watch host of political talk shows on television; * (iii) he'd listen to conservative talk radio (for those of you who remember, Bob Grant comes to mind, and this was long before conservative political talk radio became so widely popular); and * (iv) and he'd scream at the top of his lungs whenever a liberal politician would take to the television or radio airwaves to promote big government spending and higher taxes. I remember when I began college in 1976, Ange would often warn me not to take classes that were taught by certain professors (he actually gave me a list of professor names!), saying that they were way too liberal and that they would cloud my views. He was right - the few times I did take classes given by professors that were on his do not take list," they ere almost always less than subtle about voicing their liberal points of view. I can only imagine what college professors are like today! When I finished college and first started working full-time, I would frequently mention to Angelo that my take-home pay was being eaten-up by withholding taxes; he would smile, cross his arms, sigh and remind me to be sure to tell my friends to vote conservative because this is what happens when big government liberals are voted into office. And whenever presidential elections were held, Ange would be glued to the TV cheering on the most conservative candidate.

     Next, the words BEACH BOYS come to mind when I think of Angelo. Ange loved the beach boys, and owned every album and 45 record that the group ever made. He probably also read over a dozen books that were written about the group or its members. I remember being at home on Saturday nights and him being frequently glued in front of the TV watching Lloyld Thaxton or the Tammi show whenever the Beach Boys were scheduled to make an appearance. Our mom would often times get mad when Ange was glued to the one and only television set in our house, as he anxiously awaited the Beach Boys to come on. You see, this prevented my mom from tuning into the Lawrence Welk show. Getting in the way of our mother from watching Lawrence Welk on a Saturday night was not a good thing! But somehow, Ange managed to get his way, and the harmonies of the Beach Boys echoed throughout the house. Of course, our father often interjected with something like turn that noise down, yeah (as he uttered the words beatnik and hippy repeatedly). Wow - can you imagine what he would think of today's artists and the music they perform?  When CDs came out and replaced vinyl records, Ange would often buy the same recordings / albums on CD that he already owned on vinyl. His reasoning: The sound quality & harmonies were different and often times better on the CD version, or there is a slightly different rendering of the song contained on the CD - (maybe two or three words that were pronounced or sung differently)?  If I were to take inventory today, I'd probably find that Ange owned several copies of the same recording on different mediums - one on vinyl, one on CD, one on cassette, (maybe even one on 8 track), one on re-mastered vinyl, one in digital format, etc... You get the picture. He loved the Beach Boy's harmonies, and became a big fan of the surf music they sang. And, he subsequently became a big fan of the music produced by Jan and Dean. In later years when two members of the Beach Boys (Dennis & Carl Wilson) died, I could swear Ange wore black and went into mourning for the better part of the following year!

     The 3rd thing that comes to mind when remembering Angelo is TRIVIA. I cannot tell you how many times he'd call either my brother Anthony or I to tell us that the short bald fat guy who played in the Abbott & Costello shorts (his name was Bobby Barber) was making a cameo appearance on Perry Mason, or on the Love Boat, or on some other TV show. To top it off, he knew the actor's name, could tell you the year he was born and the other television shows or movies he appeared in. Ange was like a walking encyclopedia! He'd mesmerize you with his command and recall of seemingly (to some) useless or irrelevant facts - like the fact that Woodrow Wilson was born in 1856, or that Norm Cash hit 39 home runs in 1962, or that George H.W. Bush got 168 electoral votes in the 1992 Presidential election against Bill Clinton, or that the Dow Jones Industrial average closed at 3,754 on December 31, 1993, or that the actor Ray Romano has a severe peanut allergy, or that the actor Harvey Korman died of an abdominal aortic aneurysm at the age of 81 on May 29, 2008, etc. I swear that Ange must have been one of the silent inventors of the game Trivial Pursuit! Whenever I would speak with Angelo on the phone, he would go on  and on  and on - sometimes for over an hour, spewing out many facts and figures that just amazed me. While very informative, I knew not to start a telephone call with Angelo whenever I had an appointment and needed to leave the house within the hour! And forget about getting him started talking about the stock market! My brother Anthony and I often joked about this!  And the stories he'd tell about a famous politician or actor / actress - stories that were unbeknownst to many and were never written about or mentioned in most books. And Ange would just put our kids into a hypnotic trance with the many stories that he told and the many facts he churned-out. Amazing!

     The 4th thing that I think of when remembering Angelo is ElVIS PRESLEY. I think Ange must have seen every movie that Elvis ever made at least a dozen times. He knew the words to even the most obscure Elvis Presley songs, and he knew the recording time lengths of most songs. And, he could tell you stories about his manager (Colonel Tom Parker) that you never heard. When Elvis Presley died in 1977 (August 16, 1977 to be exact - did I get that right Ange?), my brother was visibly upset. Still living in my parent's house in Richmond Hill, Queens at that time, I remember Ange being in utter disbelief - and him repeatedly playing for nearly a month almost every Elvis Presley record album and song he owned. To top it off, Ange had gotten a ticket to see Elvis later that month at a concert that was scheduled for Madison Square Garden in New York. Boy, was he disappointed to learn that the concert was cancelled due to Elvis' death! Can you imagine?

     A few years ago, I remember Ange telling me about a trip he made to Graceland in Memphis Tennessee - he described the most intimate details of every room in Elvis' estate. Between my brother and I, we quietly nick-named Ange Elvis. Whenever Anthony and I would talk, we'd generally start our conversation with something like  Have your spoken to Elvis lately, or When was the last time you talked to Elvis?
 
                                                                                             * * * * * *
     As I reflect back, it is very sad to have to have to say that Elvis has finally (and once and for all) left the building.

Whatever our memories of Angelo are, it goes without saying that his presence was immensely felt and that he knew a lot of stuff. Yes, he could be stubborn and hard-headed at times, and yes he was a walking encyclopedia, often inundating you with trivial facts that some of us could care less about. But one thing is for certain, Angelo captivated everyone with the things he knew and could recall. No matter what anyone says though, Angelo was certainly unique!

     He was never afraid to voice his opinion(s), never shy to let others know how he felt, never concerned about letting others know his political views, never concerned what others thought and never unwilling to impart his vast knowledge on all of us  (and never unwilling to leave his dirty dishes in the sink)! Boy, did Angelo know a lot of stuff!

     Angelo, you will be missed!

     It is pretty clear that whenever anyone you have touched thinks of you  or hears / watches a conservative news channel  or hears a Beach Boy song playing on the radio  or wants to know how many pecks are in a bushel, or sees a picture of Elvis Presley  or hears one of Elvis' songs -  They will smile, reflect back and fondly remember you.

     We'll miss you Ange ... We love you!

     May you rest in peace, Angelo. And please, wish mom a Happy Birthday from all of us!

SO SORRY TO HEAR THIS SAD NEWS, WE KNEW EACH OTHER FROM RICHMOND HILL HIGH SCHOOL, SAT TOGETHER MOST EVERY DAY FOR LUNCH... WE HAD SEEN EACH OTHER OCCASIONALLY SINCE THEN, AND ALWAYS ENJOYED THOSE TIMES.....R.I.P., MY OLD FRIEND....

MY CONDOLENCES TO VINCENT ANTHONY AND FAMILY. I KNEW ANGELO 50 YEARS FROM RICHMOND HILL HIGH SCHOOL HE WAS KIND SMART THOUGHTFUL,FUNNY HIS LOVE FOR SURFING THE BEACH BOYS NY YANKEES AND LETS NOT FORGET HIS 1971 RED FIREBIRD.I'LL MISS HIS CARDS E-MAILS AND PHONE COVERSATIONS GREAT MEMORIES. GONE TOO SOON!REST IN PEACE MY DEAR FRIEND YOU WILL BE MISSED

RIP Angelo. I hope everything is clear to you now. I always liked him. I can't remember him ever being mean spirited or uncheerful. We weren't close as we aged but I am sorry for his passing. He was a physical fitness beast in HS and I would not have picked him to die young. You're in my prayers bro

Where did almost 65 years go? Summers at Rockaway Beach, softball at P.S. 61, shopping for albums at Al Diamond, working together at Key Food, Glenn's, Al's Stereo, The Yankees, and of course, The Beach Boys. Born 20 days apart, we grew up together and grew older together. Adulthood ... yikes. Thank God we were able to rekindle our youth on your home court ... Florida (aka "The Adult Playground"). I'll think of your often, and especially at Happy Hour!

To Angelo's family and friends, I join you in celebrating his life, his love of surfing and finding enjoyment in many things.  I knew him for over 13 years and a conversation with him always brightened my day.  May the happiness he brought into our lives comfort us as we mourn him.

Angelo will certainly be missed!  As his "baby" brother, I can tell you that he certainly was unique; I was always amazed by his uncanny ability to recall even the most trivial facts and figures. He was never afraid to voice his opinion, never shy to let others know how he felt, never concerned what others thought and never unwilling to impart his vast knowledge on all of us. A huge Beach Boy and Elvis Presley fan, Angelo will certainly be missed.

Sad to say, but "Elvis has finally left the room." May you rest in peace!

I met Angelo through my wife, Dore Rochford Schwimmer and we became good friends through the years.  I will miss trying to top him in baseball and music trivia.  Just a terrific guy.  My condolences to Vincent and the rest of the family.

What a nice guy!!  I know that phrase would have made him smile as he reminded me of my roots everytime we spoke.  I'm so sad received your Christmas card on Thursday and was going to call to Thank You.  Never say  your going to do something you must do it at that moment.

Goodbye my friend

AVIS DE DÉCÈS

Angelo Spoto

4 juin 1953 – 24 décembre 2017

Kraeer Funeral Home

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