Lidio Magnarella, known to hundreds in Millbrook and environs as "Lee", died suddenly Wednesday in Albany. Lidio was 48 years old. He had just undergone open heart surgery at the Veterans Administration Hospital. A popular ¬and ceaselessly active part of Millbrook life all his 48 years, Lidio Magnarella was known and respected in many roles He was an accomplished bricklayer (becoming a self-employed contractor), good musician (he organized his own band which played for many functions around the area), an ardent Democrat (Town Committeeman and candidate for Supervisor and Councilman), a Coast Guard veteran (of Okinawa and other campaigns), an avid bowler (secretary for his league), a loyal member of the American Legion, and a family man survived now by his wife and two children. But Lee Magnarella was known best perhaps, as a man deeply involved with young people. He taught them (as a BOCES vocational Instructor) and he led them, in Boy Scouting, on Community Center teams, as a Community Center Director for many years, and as a coach for young athletes. It was while coaching a Millbrook School for Boys team last April that Lee was stricken with a heart attack in Pittsfield. Months of hospitalization in a number of places, including a brief return to his home, followed. As a veteran, he finally went to the government hospital in Albany where surgery was attempted Wednesday. The operation was technically successful, but Lee's body, worn by months of strain, was unable to sustain the shock. Lidio Magnarella was born May 3, 1922, in Millbrook, the son of Pasquale and Alexandrine Spada Magnarella. He is survived by his wife, Erna Sturmer Magnarella, his son James and daughter Nancy. Also surviving are four sisters: Mrs. Rosario DiNorcia of Millbrook; Mrs. Assunta Nardella and Mrs. Concelia Marone of Waterbury, Conn.; and Mrs. Virgil Capirenlo of Bristol, Conn. Lidio was the brother of the late Pasquale Magnarella Jr. Several nephews and nieces also survive.
Millbrook Round Table, 3 Sept 1970
Died Sept 2, 1970