May
24, 1914 - Dec. 25, 2009SOUTH BEND - Paul F. Bosco passed away peacefully of natural causes on the evening of December 25th at age 95. Born in Vasto, Italy, the youngest of nine siblings, Paul and his family immigrated to the United States in 1920 and settled in Detroit, Michigan. He graduated from Wayne State University in 1934 and received a Ph.D. in Romance Philology from Harvard University in 1942. Paul then served in military intelligence during WW II, stationed in Puerto Rico. In 1947 he began his career as a professor at the University of Notre Dame, teaching Spanish, French and Italian, specializing in Applied Linguistics. He revived the teaching of Italian at Notre Dame. He loved teaching, continuing past his official retirement in 1979 by teaching part-time until 1997, completing a 50-year career. He spent summers between 1949 and 1965 at the Army Foreign Liaison Office at the Pentagon or teaching Military Intelligence as a member of the Army Reserve, from which he retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1974. He spent 1955-57 on a Fulbright grant in Italy, where he met his wife. In 1962-64 he was the director of a cultural exchange center in Argentina for the State Dept, and in the summers of 1965-67 participated in NDEA Institutes in Georgia (for Spanish) and in France. From 1968 to 1970 he lived in Angers, France, serving as director of Notre Dame and St. Mary's sophomore year abroad program. He traveled widely, from fieldwork in Argentina and Chile in 1941 to leisure travel in Europe and Asia after his retirement. Paul was extremely patient and loving with his handicapped daughter Laura, and was moved to help Vietnamese refugees by sponsoring a family that came to South Bend. Paul is survived by his wife of 53 years, Vittoria; children, Joseph (Sara), Beatrice (Sarah Gubbins), Peter A. (Kathy) and Laura (Patti Lindorf); five grandchildren, Anna, Paul, Peter, Luca and Sofi; and many beloved nieces and nephews, friends and students. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Notre Dame. Burial will follow at Cedar Grove Cemetery. Friends may call from 4-7 p.m. today in the McGann Hay Funeral Homes, University Chapel, 2313 E. Edison Road, near Ironwood, where the Holy Rosary will be prayed at 4 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family wishes to have friends honor Paul's memory by directing memorial donations to South Bend Catholic Worker, PO Box 4241, South Bend, IN 46634; or to Dismas House, P.O. Box 4571, South Bend, IN 46634. To send condolences to the family or for directions, log on to www.McGannHay.com.