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<p>It may be a modest mark of a person&#8217;s life impact when more than 100 people attend the funeral Mass on a soggy Tuesday morning. It may be a more compelling testimony when eight priests concelebrant the farewell service.</p><p>Both were true when family, friends and acquaintances gathered to help lay Frank Pasquini to rest, though Pasquini left behind a tale of community service that spoke for itself regardless of the size of the funeral crowd or the count of priests at the altar.</p><p>Pasquini&#8217;s contribution to Wilkes-Barre specifically and the region generally are well documented. He served at one time or another as president of the Downtown Wilkes-Barre Business Association, director of capital resources for the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business and Industry, board president for the Wilkes-Barre Educational Improvement Foundation, and a King&#8217;s College grad who returned to work there, finishing his career as vice president for institutional advancement.</p><p>That latter would explain why half the concelebrant priests at his funeral Mass had come from the college to St. Nicholas Church on Tuesday.</p><p>Yet while his support of the area businesses and nonprofits defined his professional and public life, that aspect of him got only the cursory nods during the service. The two principal speakers &#8212; Deacon William Behm and childhood friend Gary Cook &#8212; talked of Pasquini the man (and boy), the mentor and the steadfast supporter.</p><p>Cook said he knew Pasquini since seventh grade, and recalled the day Frank decided to learn to drive at the age of 14. &#8220;He promptly drove the truck through the garage door and into a wall.&#8221;</p><p>He noted Pasquini, well known as a deeply religious person in adulthood, was considerably famous in his early days for making prank calls, had once wrestled a garden hose &#8220;like it was an anaconda snake&#8221; and would periodically slip into his &#8220;Jimmy Stewart routine from &#8216;It&#8217;s a Wonderful Life.&#8217;&#8221;</p><p>Pasquini, he said, would make a threat few who had heard it would dismiss: &#8220;Don&#8217;t make me use my primal scream!&#8221;</p><p>Cook choked back tears as he talked of the softest sides of Pasquini, the parts of the man&#8217;s personality that mattered most. The fellow student who helped with homework and &#8220;was more concerned about my future than his own.&#8221; The one man to greet him after a long trip.</p><p>William Behm, permanent deacon at St. Nicholas Church and another longtime friend, also offered some amusing anecdotes from his history with Pasquini. He also talked of how Pasquini helped him land a job at King&#8217;s College. &#8220;That changed my life.</p><p>&#8220;Friends do things for each other,&#8221; Behm said of Pasquini. &#8220;Friends stand by you. And they go to bat for you.&#8221;</p><p>At his best, Pasquini embodied what we often feel is the best of our region, and the eulogies reflected that. Pasquini may have put it best himself, long ago, in a conversation Behm recounted:</p><p>&#8220;He told me, &#8216;People may forget absolutely everything you say, but they will never forget how you made them feel.&#8221;</p><style>
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Our view: Pasquini still a shining example to all