Joseph L. Pagano, 90, died on Sunday, March 1, 2026 in Hadley, Massachusetts. Born in Middletown, Connecticut, he was the son of Vincent and Thesolina Pagano. He was predeceased by his wife, Ruth S. Pagano.
Joe grew up in Middletown, Connecticut where he graduated high school in 1953. He attended the University of Connecticut where he studied mechanical engineering for 5 semesters, then served in the army for 2 years. Upon discharge from the army he worked as a draftsman, tool and die maker, and machinist. Joe eventually settled into a 45-year career in piano tuning and rebuilding.
In 1975 he got a good start in piano tuning and rebuilding under the tutelage of Ed DiPillo in West Hartford, Connecticut. After gaining enough piano experience with Ed, he worked for Watkins Brothers, a Steinway Dealer in Hartford.
In 1978 Joe and his family moved to Boston, where he worked for piano rebuilder Santo Falcone for about a year. He then partnered with technicians Bob Meyers and Martha Jackmauh to start Boston Piano Works. He had his own shop in the South End called Tremont Piano. After that time, he worked for Chris Pleim until joining Fred’s Piano Service in 2007.
Joe was a piano tuner to venues such as Jordan Hall, Boston, and Kresge Auditorium in Cambridge. Frank Sinatra was annoyed to come on stage only to find Joe still packing up his tools.
Joe had a passion for old machinery and steam railroading history. At one time he purchased and partially restored a 1934 Baldwin yard-switching steam locomotive. Joe was involved with Valley Railroad in Essex, Connecticut and the Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum. A colleague, Max Miller, paid for extensive repairs and donated the Baldwin #10 to its current location at the Eastern Connecticut Railroad Museum in Willimantic, Connecticut.
Besides his wife, Joe leaves his daughters Allison Caron (Ray) of Sunderland, Page Williams of San Diego, Leslie Rawe (Ian)of Malden, and Adriana Pagano (Steve) of Barcelona, Spain. He also leaves 6 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
The family will hold a memorial gathering later in the spring. The Cremation Society of New Hampshire has been entrusted with arrangements. To view an online tribute, leave a message of condolence or for more information please visit www.csnh.com.