Ipswich — Angelo C. Perna, 74, passed away at the Masconomet Health
Center in Topsfield, on June 17, 2012, after a valiant battle with
cancer. He was born February 8, 1938, in Highland Falls, N.Y. He was the
youngest and last surviving sibling of 14 children. His parents were
Carmine and Maria Perna, both born in villages near Naples, Italy. He
served in the U.S. Army in postwar Korea, where he patrolled the DMZ for
13 months with his German shepherd, Klack. After military service, he
graduated from SUNY Cortland with a degree in physical education and
earned a master's degree in guidance and administration from Indiana
State University. He went on to earn more than 60 additional graduate
hours.
Ang moved to Ipswich in 1968, taught physical
education at Ipswich High School and started the high school boys soccer
team. He was part of the coaching team that led Ipswich to its football
Super Bowl championship in 1968. In addition, he also was the head
wrestling coach. His 1969 wrestling team placed third in the state.
After Ipswich he taught for 28 years in Gloucester schools, where he
continued to coach a variety of sports, including soccer and track and
field.
Following retirement, he became known as the
voice of ACP Sports Videos and was a regular presence at Ipswich sports
events. He was also familiar to many in town for lining the soccer
fields for Ipswich Youth Soccer.
He had many passions: his family, sports,
dancing, his red Mercury Capri convertible, and his town. He
participated in many town committees over the years and spent many
volunteer hours improving fields and playing conditions for youth
sports. He wrote a Citizen’s Petition to acquire land behind the former
high school. Known as “Angie’s Field of Dreams,” it was unsupported by
all the boards of Town Government, but Town Meeting voted to approve the
purchase. It later proved instrumental in the plan of the present
high/middle school. He also played a key role in acquiring funding to
remodel the library at the former middle school.
He will be remembered by many as their Little
League, Youth Hockey, or Youth Soccer coach. He was not only a great
father to his own two sons, he was a father figure to innumerable boys
and girls in Ipswich and Gloucester.
He played varsity soccer, baseball, and lacrosse
in college, ran track for the U.S. Army, played ice hockey with the
Ipswich Hawks, many years for the Ipswich Chiefs baseball team and later
for the Over-30 Softball League. After knee surgery, he gave up the
field and became an umpire for the league, making his last call last
summer.
He was honored with induction into the Ipswich High School Sports Hall of Fame this year.
He is survived by his son Christopher Perna and
his wife Amy; son Joseph Perna and his wife Jennifer and their three
children, Amelia, Keegan, and Addison; his nephew Anthony Hashey of
Scarboro, Maine; his companion Virginia Ciolino of Magnolia; his friend
and former wife, Beverly Perna, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins
across the country. He also will be missed by his friends in the
Highland Falls, N.Y., class of 1957 who stayed in touch right to the
end.
Bang the drum slowly and play the fife lowly.
Those who loved him prayed for extra innings, but he was called up to
The Show by the great General Manager. He played hard — he left it all
on the field.
ARRANGEMENTS: His funeral will be held Thursday, June 21, at 9
a.m. from the Whittier-Porter Funeral Home, 6 High St., Ipswich,
followed by the celebration of a 10 a.m. funeral Mass at Our Lady of
Hope Church, Pineswamp Road, Ipswich. Relatives and friends invited to
attend. Visiting hours are Wednesday from 4 to 8 p.m. Burial will be in
Highland Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be
made in Ang’s memory to the ACP Sports Memorial Scholarship Fund at the
Institution for Savings, 2 Depot Square, Ipswich, MA 01938. The family
requests that anyone who had Ang as a coach or was somehow touched by
his life wear their Ipswich or Gloucester colors or team jersey. For
directions or to leave a condolence, please visit
www.whittier-porter.com/.
http://www.gloucestertimes.com/obituaries/x514656236/Angelo-C-Perna-74
