Salvatore Poidomani

Sal Poidomani will be remembered by all for his gift of humor and friendship. His personality was larger than life, his advice sage, his wit contagious. As a raconteur, Sal was unparalleled. Whether among adults or children, friends or complete strangers, Sal held an audience spellbound. He spoke from his heart, drawing on his own life, adding humorous embellishment, telling stories that people never got tired of hearing. Just having Sal in a room was enough to lighten up the most serious occasion.

Sal lost his father when he was 10. He grew up with his mother and younger sister, Matilda, in a brownstone on Henry Street owned by relatives. His aunts and uncles lived on other floors in the building. They communicated to each other by yelling in the dumbwaiter. Sal started working at a young age to support his family, taking jobs in neighborhood stores before and after school. He worked in a fruit store, a butcher shop and a fish store - and most friends know Sal couldn’t stand fish and was probably allergic. These early jobs, though not always pleasant, provided material for many Sal stories. Sal went to his first Scout meeting at age 10. The Scoutmaster, Joe Mattera, told him that you had to be eleven to join Scouts. Sal said he was 10. The Scoutmaster repeated, “You have to be eleven to join.” After a few repetitions Sal caught on, and said, “I’m eleven.” The troop fee for Troop 265 was fifty cents a year. Sal used to say that 50 cents bought him the adventures of a lifetime. He spent his summers as a camper at Ten Mile River, earned his Eagle and Vigil Honor, and became a Scoutmaster when he was 21. His Vigil name in Shu-Shu-Gah Lodge was Lauchsoheen (He Who Makes Others Happy).

Sal had too many “careers” to mention all. He held a union card and was a pressman at the New York Times for 14 years. He went to acting school - The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. He dispatched cars for the “Esoteric Car Service” in Brooklyn. He attended Brooklyn College. He joined the Greater New York Councils Boy Scouts as a District Executive. When he moved to Philadelphia with his girlfriend, Barbara, he waited tables while waiting to hear about a teaching job with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Starting as a sub at two Catholic high schools for boys, he ended up in a full-time position at Roman Catholic High School as an English teacher. At Roman he worked his way up from the classroom to become the Assistant Vice Principal of Activities. He had his summers off as a teacher, and spent 25 summers as Director of Family Camp at TMR and 2 summers as Director of Camp Aquehonga. After retiring from Roman Catholic in 2004, he worked for the Cradle of Liberty Councils, Boy Scouts, in Valley Forge. His last job was at the Chester County Council where he worked under his good friend, Charlie Rogers, Sal’s old boss, and the former director at TMR.

Sal and Barbara were married in 1989 at Camp Keowa chapel, TMR, by Father Tony Marchitelli. Their two sons, Joseph and Anthony, spent all their summers at Family Camp, with Joe starting at 3 months, and Anthony (Nino) at 3 weeks. Sal was the proudest dad when his two sons joined the OA and became Eagle Scouts. Sal met his closest friends when he joined Scouting. He held onto those early friendships his entire life, making thousands more friends along the way. He drove to one final reunion at Ten Mile River to be with 8 friends he made in Scouting as a boy. He passed away on the morning of the last day with them. Ten Mile River was his true home.

Sal was the loving father of Joseph Poidomani and Anthony Poidomani; beloved companion of Dale Stern; also survived by his former spouse, Barbara Fox; predeceased by his sister, Matilda Quintero.

Relatives and friends are invited to his Visitation 4:00-7:00 PM Monday, November 21, 2022 at The Donohue Funeral Home, 366 W. Lancaster Avenue, Wayne, PA 19087, 610-989-9600, and 12:00-1:00 PM Tuesday at St. Katharine of Siena Church, 104 S. Aberdeen Avenue, Wayne, PA 19087, followed by his Funeral Mass at 1:00 PM. Interment private.

In lieu of flowers contributions in Sal's memory to Friends of Ten Mile River would be appreciated.  Donations can be sent via PayPal to webmaster@friendsoftmr.org or Friends of TMR, PO Box 236, Narrowsburg, NY 12764.