Vito Gargano

Vito J. Gargano passed away peacefully at the age of 95. Married to Theresa (nee Cacioppo) for 67 years, they had four children, five grandchildren, and four great grandchildren. Gargano was president of the Italian American Federal Club, an organization comprising hundreds of federal employees of the United States Postal Service.

Gargano’s career spanned more than 40 years in the USPS. He started as a clerk/level 5 and rose to the highest level in the postal system, level 27, as district director of mail processing for Illinois. Along the way, he served as postmaster for Des Plaines, Illinois, and Racine, Wisconsin, as well as officer-in-charge at the post office in Glenview, Illinois.

Dedicated to his heritage and community, he had frequently participated in Columbus Day parades and other community events throughout his career and retirement.

An avid, lifelong gardener, Gargano enjoyed tending his backyard crop with the care of a botanist, growing a variety of vegetables, including acorn squash, zucchini and cocozzi (long squash). He was fond of his experience as eucharistic minister at Holy Family Chapel in Des Plaines.