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Obituary
editJohn F. Naioti -- teacher, coach and lawmaker -- was remembered Friday as a man who guided young people and won the respect of his opponents on the ball field and in the political arena.
The longtime athletic director at Bishop Cunningham High School in Oswego and former Oswego County legislator died Wednesday while vacationing with his wife in Las Vegas. He was 68.
God only knows how many youngsters John touched, said Edward Frawley, a county legislator from Fulton. He set them on the straight and narrow when they could have gone the other way.
Naioti, who lived at 18 Taylor Ave. in Fulton, played professional football with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1940s and received several awards for his military service during World War II.
Frawley said he played semi-pro baseball and basketball with Naioti and had known him for more than 40 years. When they traveled together, youths and adults would come up to Naioti and say, Hi, coach.
Even the opponents respected him, Frawley said.
Naioti started working at Bishop Cunningham High School when the school opened in 1954. In addition to being athletic director, he coached football and taught business courses. He retired in 1984.
He was a very strong Catholic, said Sister dePaul Juliano, principal of Bishop Cunningham. He just had a love for children and Catholic education.
In the early years, Naioti worked at the Oswego school for nearly nothing, said Sister dePaul. When he was in your company, you felt the goodness there. The kids loved him -- just his fairness, his kindness and his compassion. Many of Naioti's students went on to become teachers, she said.
A lifelong Fulton resident, he attended local schools and graduated from Fulton High School. In 1942, he graduated from St. Francis College in Loretto, Pa.
Naioti played professional football in 1942 and 1945. Between those years, he served in the U.S. Army Air Corps and the 398th Bombardment Group in England. He participated in 32 combat missions as a navigator and received the Air Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and a Presidential Citation with two oak leaf clusters.
He served as a county legislator from 1970 to 1984 and was the Democratic minority leader for part of his tenure. As a legislator, he was absolutely tops, Frawley said. He was extremely well-respected and well-liked (by both Democrats and Republicans). Most recently, he was employed by Oswego County as assistant coordinator of the STOP-DWI program. Surviving are his wife, the former Marjorie Karns; a daughter, Dianne Licciardello of Fulton; a son, John F. Naioti Jr. of Glenville; four brothers, Sebastian Naioti of Clearwater, Fla., Leo of Syracuse, Nicholas of Clifton Park, and Joseph of Syracuse; five grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.
Services will be at 9:15 a.m. Tuesday at Young & Son Funeral Home, 322 Oneida St., Fulton, and at 10 a.m. in Holy Family Church, 45 W. Fourth St., Fulton. Burial will be in St. Mary's Cemetery in Fulton. Calling hours at the funeral home will be 6 to 9 p.m. Sunday and 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Monday.
Published in the Post-Standard (Syracuse, NY) on Saturday, September 8, 1990 and Syracuse Herald Journal Newspaper Saturday, September 08, 1990 - Page 48.