John A. Pagnoni Obituary

Dear Jean, Doug and I miss John very much. I just wish we could have done more for him. John and I always enjoyed talking about the U.K. Wildcats. You are always in our prayers.

I met John in 1985 and he was sitting in the sales tower of a Lincoln Dealership where I was a new salesman. The showroom wasn't used much and I was walking through and there he was. Just sitting there. Hmmm, whose that? I wondered. Nobody said that we had someone new working there. He sat there for several days and never really said anything to anybody. Then one day John walked down to the main Ford showroom and introduced

I met John in 1985 and he was sitting in the sales tower of a Lincoln Dealership where I was a new salesman. The showroom wasn't used much and I was walking through and there he was. Just sitting there. Hmmm, whose that? I wondered. Nobody said that we had someone new working there. He sat there for several days and never really said anything to anybody. Then one day John walked down to the main Ford showroom and introduced himself as the New General Manager. (he later told me he sat in the Lincoln showroom to observe the dealership and just see what everyone was up to)

He had an extreme wealth of knowledge of the car industry and especially leasing. He proceeded to take the dealership to a whole new level that it had not previously seen. He had a way of explaining things in basic and understandable terms that always made sense to most every customer. He never gave up on training his staff.

He became a mentor and a dear friend of mine and my wife Barbie. He had the very best New Years Eve party's ever. Dom Perignon unlimited.

John not only knew the car business but he was extremely smart on the economy, politics and sports. Never bet against him... you would lose.

We worked together for nearly two decades and to this date I use many of his sayings and reasoning.

I will always remember John. A truly great man.

When I think of John I often remember seeing him with his pride and joy, infant "J J", sitting on his lap at his desk pounding away at the keyboard like it was a toy. John and his son with big smiles on their face. That was bliss to him. That's how I will remember him. Smiling. Happy. In control. Proud.

John and I went to St. Augustine's Elementary SchoolTc7eR and Bulkeley High School together, growing up in the south end of Hartford, CT. I will always remember him fondly. My sincerest sympathies to his family.