Obituary: Roger Thomas Coraggio, Sr., 79, Of Danbury

Information and Photo Courtesy Hull Funeral Home

DANBURY, CT — Roger Thomas Coraggio, Sr., 79, of Danbury, succumbed to Alzheimer’s at home Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024. Then, after a brief resuscitation, again at Danbury Hospital Friday, Jan. 26, 2024. Always the intrepid type, he would try anything twice.

Born in the Bronx on July 5, 1944, the third and last child of Alfred Coraggio and Josephine (Riccardelli) Coraggio, he was initially raised in Mt. Vernon, NY. By ninth grade, he moved to White Plains, NY, where in 1962 he graduated from White Plains High School. Fatefully, that is where he met the everlasting love of his life, Nancy Mary (Gafford) Coraggio.

Roger was drafted by the U.S. Army in 1966 and spent two years stationed in Germany, guarding military weapons, secrets, and on his downtime drinking good beer out of tall steins. On Jan. 20, 1968, while home on leave, he and Nancy wed, then spent the next 56 years plus a week in a blissful union that bore three children, four grandchildren, and enough warm and waggish memories to fill a hundred lifetimes.

With Nancy’s support, plus the G.I. bill, he matriculated at Pace University and Western Connecticut State University, where he fostered his enthusiasm for English education. The naturally skillful storyteller that he was, Roger spent more than 30 years teaching literature and composition at John Jay High School in Katonah, NY, and for another 12 years at Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury and Danbury.

Roger planted his roots in Connecticut in 1975, when he moved his multigenerational clan – which at the time included his wife, mother-in-law, and firstborn son — from Bedford Hills, NY, to a house in Danbury that would be his happy home until the end.

Roger was famous for his resounding sense of humor and his affable disposition. The idea that anyone would ever have a negative opinion of him is so implausible, it’s just flat impossible. He was cherished by his family, embraced by his in-laws, revered by his coworkers and students, and beloved by his friends. To quote basically everybody, “Roger was the best.”

He will be forever missed by his eldest son Roger, Jr. and his two children Lilly and Robert, daughter Elizabeth (Coraggio) Hadley, her husband Garrett and their two children Ella and Colton, and youngest son Jack. Roger is also survived by his brother Alfred Jr. and sister-in-law Judy, sister Christine (Coraggio) Morrison, sisters-in-law Frances (Gafford) Chibib and Maureen (Gafford) Vidal, their respective husbands Ahmed and Juan, and too many nephews, nieces, cousins, friends, fans, and well-wishers to count.

He is predeceased by his parents, his mother-in-law Maureen (Harder) Gafford and brother-in-law Richard Morrison, Sr.

His burial service will be at 11 a.m. on Saturday, April 13, at Wooster Cemetery in Danbury. In lieu of flowers, please donate to your local Alzheimer’s Association.