Amherst Magazine David T. Pagnini '62

From The Olio

Deceased November 25, 2018

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In Memory

David (always Tulio to me) Pagnini passed from us on November 28, 2018, during the course of a surgical procedure. David, a/k/a The Raccoon, (don't worry folks, it’s a D.U. "thing"), and Nathan Detroit, came to us from Milford, MA, and after graduation and law school returned to his home area to successfully practice law for five decades. We had the good fortune on several occasions to have his presence at reunions and homecomings. He was a gentle soul without a mean bone in his body. Although mild mannered, he had, as they say in northern New England, a "wicked good" sense of humor. Whether hearing from classmates about interactions with David during freshman year, during his years at D.U., or coming down to the present, David never seemed to change, and was always a pleasant, positive person, or as Jody Freeman put it, "One of the good guys."

Although one has to know the personalities, the roommate combination at D.U. of David, Jody Freeman, Tony Cotignola, Al Deatt and Paul Sherwood was, to say the least, unique. As the only nonathlete in the group, one would have thought that David might not "fit in," but the opposite was the case, and the interesting amalgam that was D.U. was always made stronger by David’s presence and contributions. Over the years, aside from meetings at Amherst, we also had a few professional interactions for clients that he had in New Hampshire or I had in Massachusetts. These were always enjoyable opportunities to catch up, and greatly appreciated by me.

Although I could describe one of my remembrances involving David visiting the Amherst town fair prior to graduation (in graduation gowns and little else), I’ll leave that for another time. Probably the most notable memory occurred slightly after graduation at Bill Tapply's wedding, which was held at the Old North Church. As ushers, David, Jim Shrager, Randy Gesing and I were all in evening formal wear. When we left the wedding and went to claim my vehicle, we walked by a bar in the North End. When a few of the patrons that were hard in to the consumption of adult beverages noticed our garb, voices from inside called out "Hey, Kid Gavilan, come 'ere." This was followed shortly by a number of those patrons who had been pouring down drinks, pouring out onto the sidewalk to pursue us down the street. Although David may not have been known as an athlete, he had no problem motivating that day, and he established his reputation as a fleet-footed runner, as we both got back to my vehicle in a timely fashion and fled the scene.

Nick Prigge '62