Salvatore R. Paratore

Salvatore Rocco Paratore, 90, passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on Tuesday evening, September 15th, 2026, in Fort Collins, Colorado.

For Sal’s 90th birthday this June, nearly everyone sought to share a story about why they looked up to him. Friends, family, neighbors, and former colleagues who knew Sal across very different times and parts of his life, all told the same story in the man they described.

Above all, Sal was constant. He showed up for his family, his wife, his parish, his students, and his community. Sal was a man of remarkable qualities, made even more remarkable by the way he expressed them every day of his life. He did not seek acknowledgment or recognition, but focused on being of service to those around him. He lived with humility and a quiet grace.

Sal was born in Frankfort, NY on June 10, 1936 to Lucy Paratore and Carmolo “Carl” Paratore, and grew up alongside his older brother Carl “Pep” Paratore and younger sister Rosemary Paratore. Much of Sal’s childhood oriented around life outdoors, spending time on his Uncle Frank’s farm, playing in the creek behind their house, hiking up the hills of Frankfort, and skating down streets by holding onto car bumpers.


While attending Frankfort High School, Sal began dating Rosann in his junior year, having known her through their close family friendship since he was young. With Sal on the football team and Rosann a cheerleader, they were high school sweethearts and prom king and queen.

Sal was the first generation in his family to attend college, attending Colgate University on academic scholarship, where he played on the football team and participated in the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC). One of his favorite claims to fame was having played against future NFL Hall of Famer Jim Brown (where they lost to Syracuse 61-7). Though he tried out professionally for both football and baseball, it was mathematics that captured his interest, leading him toward a lifelong career in education. He graduated in 1957 with a B.A. in Mathematics and Natural Sciences and as a Lieutenant Junior Grade. During this time, he and Rosann maintained a long-distance relationship, with Sal hitchhiking down to Marywood University on weekends to see her.

A year after graduating, Sal and Rosann married in their hometown of Frankfort, New York on December 6, 1958. He entered the Navy in 1959, served aboard the USS Essex CVA-9 aircraft

carrier, and traveled the world. He then served in the Naval Reserve until 1965. While getting his master’s in Math Education at Yeshiva University, he began his teaching career teaching math and coaching football and basketball at Pleasantville High School. All the while, he and Rosann started a beautiful family, welcoming Carla, Andrew, and Nikki into the world.


Sal then worked on his doctorate, finishing his Ph.D. at Syracuse University in 1973 in Statistics and Measurements. After Syracuse, Sal and the family moved to Vienna, Virginia, where they quickly became an active part of the community. In 1973, Sal joined the faculty at George Washington University, beginning a career there that would span more than three decades. At 37, he became one of the youngest tenured professors at George Washington University.

At George Washington, Sal was a professor of statistics and research methods and later chaired the department, teaching generations of students. He helped develop and expand doctoral programs and advised many students through their dissertation research. Through this work, Sal helped countless students complete their doctorates and pursue careers of their own before retiring in 2008. His home remained filled with gifts from former students, visual tokens of the lives he was able to impact.

Retirement didn't slow Sal down. He could be found doing yardwork, playing tennis, or swimming at Westwood. A longtime parishioner of St. John Neumann, he attended daily Mass, was a member of the Knights of Columbus, and helped establish several educational programs at the church. Above all, he treasured spending time at the dinner table with his loved ones, often with a glass of red wine and a plate of gnocchi.

In 2012, Rosann suffered a debilitating stroke that left her partially paralyzed and reliant on a wheelchair. For the next 12 years, Sal became her primary caregiver, tending to her with extraordinary patience and selflessness day in and day out. His care for Rosann was eventually recognized with a Caregiver of the Year award. That same care extended to those around him. His children, grandchildren, extended family, students, and friends knew they could always come to him for soft-spoken guidance and help.

Sal was predeceased by his beloved wife of 64 years, Rosann Paratore; his daughters, Carla Paratore Vercoe and Nikki Paratore; sister Rosemary, and parents Lucy and Carl.

He is survived by his son, Andrew Paratore; his brother Pep, and his grandchildren, Garrett Vercoe, Rebecca Paratore, and Michael Paratore; and great-grandson Banks Rocco Paratore. He

also leaves behind a much wider community of extended family, friends, colleagues, former students, and those he mentored throughout his life, for whom Sal’s guidance and example have become part of their own lives.

An Italian man through and through, Sal was the patriarch of his family, though he would never have called himself one. He will be deeply missed by all who knew him.

There will be a private graveside service at Fairfax Memorial Park on October 20, 2026.

In lieu of flowers please send donations to Epilepsy Foundation https://donate.epilepsy.com/donatetoday/donate or Saint Judes https://www.stjude.org/donate/.