Aldo L. Bartolotta
“I never had a bad day” was a lifelong motto and phrase repeated by Aldo L. Bartolotta, 85, of Monongahela, who passed away Sunday, December 2, 2012.
Mr. Bartolotta, president of Mon Valley Foods, avid Pitt Panther fan and Mon Valley icon, received innumerable awards in his lifetime for his philanthropy and leadership, but considered family his greatest achievement.
He was born August 3, 1927, on Main Street in Monongahela, to Antonio G. and Maria Pontiere Bartolotta, the youngest of six children. He grew up on Cuff Alley, off Park Avenue, and is featured in its TV documentary, “One Extraordinary Street.”
Mr. Bartolotta was a 1945 graduate of Monongahela High School and served two years in the U.S. Navy nearing the end of World War II.
In 1949, he began his career at Bartolotta’s Meat Market in Monongahela with his brother, Leo, and continued to work there and grow their business to open 10 more stores in the Mon Valley. After his brother’s retirement in 1973, Mr. Bartolotta took control of what was then Fisher Heights Shop ‘n Save, now known as Bartolotta’s Giant Eagle. With the help of son Bruce and son-in-law Robert “Archie” Allridge, he opened three more stores within the next 20 years. Mr. Bartolotta never retired and was still involved with his three remaining stores in Fisher Heights, Finleyville and Uniontown until just last year.
He has undoubtedly become a legend in his community, not only for his leadership and friendship to many, but also his contributions to countless organizations and sports team sponsorships in the Mon Valley and beyond.
Mr. Bartolotta served as a member of the Board of Trustees at Mon Valley Hospital and a board member of Mon-Vale Health Resources, for which he received the Pallone Award for Dimensions in Board Leadership this spring.
He also was a member of American Legion Post 302, Monongahela; Veterans of Foreign Wars, Monongahela; Monongahela Elks Club 455; Mon Valley Golden Panthers Club, University of Pittsburgh; Italian Heritage Society of America; and Knights of Columbus 2600, which once named him Man of the Year.
Previously, he received the Golden Panthers Special Chapter Award and the Golden Panthers Man of the Year Award by the University of Pittsburgh, the Mid-Mon Valley Italians Special Columbus Day Award and also the Mon Valley Boy Scouts of America Good Citizen Award for Community Service. In 2009, he received the Mid-Mon Valley All Sports Hall of Fame Appreciation Award and also a Distinguished Citizen Award.
Mr. Bartolotta was a longtime Pitt Panther football fan and attended or recorded every game since the 1970s.
He enjoyed playing the accordion and organ, keeping in touch with friends and family, sharing stories and traditions and a good Canadian Club Manhattan. His greatest joy was having his large family together, and he concluded every holiday toast with, “We have a good family, I’m proud of all of you. Remember to always stay close, watch out for each other and do something good for humanity every day.”
Surviving are his wife of almost 60 years, Joan Greco Bartolotta, whom he married May 18, 1953; daughter and son-in-law Toni Jo and Robert J. “Archie” Allridge of Charleroi; six grandchildren, Jennifer (Jamie) FitzGerald, Danielle M. (Matthew) Steingraber, Bart Allridge, Damon J., Devin J. and Dante A.W. Bartolotta; and a great-granddaughter, Claire FitzGerald; daughter-in-law Camera Bartolotta of Monongahela; former daughter-in-law Nancy Bartolotta of Charleroi; and a large extended family that stretches from California to New England.
Deceased are son Bruce A. Bartolotta, who died November 16, 2009; four brothers, Vincent, Eugene, Leo and Armond Bartolotta; and a sister, Catherine A. Monte Carlo.
Friends will be received from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday and noon to 4 p.m. and 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesday in Marshall Marra Funeral Home, 216 Chess Street, Monongahela, 724-258-6767, marshallmarrafuneralhome.com. A blessing service will be held at 9:30 a.m. in the funeral home Thursday, December 6, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial beginning at 10 a.m. in St. Damien of Molokai Parish, Transfiguration Church, with Father William Terza as celebrant. Entombment will follow in Sacred Heart Cemetery, Monongahela. The Mon Valley Honor Guard and Firing Squad will conduct full military honors at the cemetery. Memorial contributions can be made either to Father Leger Fund, 722 West Main Street, Monongahela, PA 15063, or Mon-Vale Health Resources Inc., 1163 Country Club Road, Monongahela, PA 15063.