Thomas D. Picarella, born June 4 1943, St. Louis, MO. The first born son of Dan Contino Picarella and Rose Culatto Sciortino; husband of Sheila Hodge Picarella; Father of Dan Picarella and Amy Picarella Lindgren; grandfather of Ailis and Caitlin Lindgren; brother of Rosalie Picarella (Lahay) and uncle to Andrew and Matthew Lahay and families.
Educated at St. Liborius Catholic Elementary School 1948 – 1957, Central High School 1957 – 1961, University of Tennessee 1965 (BS 1967) and (MS 1968) in Transportation; Joined the USAF in 1962; served as an airman weather observer 1963 – 1965, and as a transportation officer from 1969 – 1985.
Upon USAF retirement, entered a Civil Service occupation in 1986, as job classification and compensation analyst and retired again in 1998. Next used what he learned in the Civil Service as a compensation consultant for a year.
Sheila’s mom and dad took ill, and we moved to her home town in Scotland, staying for about 6 years. Dusty, our canine companion came with us. Sheila became a college lecturer; Dusty and I finally retired, took long walks and bus rides along the west coast of Scotland, stopping for a Pub lunch along the way. Sometimes, Dusty was offered a free meal.
We returned to the St Louis, MO Metro Area in 2005 and retired to Augusta, Mo. After 13 years, many reasons lured us to move closer to the amenities that made life easier. Daisy has her own yard, and loves chasing rabbits The rest of the story has yet to be told. Only time will reveal the last chapter.
Roadside service with full military honors on Thursday, August 14th at 10:30 a.m. at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery.