Paul Albert Lupo

Paul Albert Lupo was known as Albert growing up, later as Al to his wife and friends, Grampy to his grandson, and Grampy Lupo to Royalton, Vt congregation and of course, Uncle Albert and Uncle Al.

He is survived by wife, Jean Lupo, son Donald Lupo and his fiancée, Hope Sirekis, daughter, Sherri Tyler and her husband, James Tyler, grandson Nicholas Lupo and great granddaughter, Gracey Lupo, sister Nancy Karlinsky (age 93) and many, many nephews and nieces.

Albert was born in Stamford, Connecticut to Vincent Albert Lupo and Rose Mary (Pinto) Lupo. He was the last of their 11 children.He had3 brothers and 7 sisters. 6 of his sisters were so much older that he often said he had 7 mothers.

He loved telling stories of eating squirrels his father got while hunting and eating lamb’s eyes. The eyes were sweet, he said. Also, about his sisters telling him to hold his nose while he ate escarole. And his father saying “not bad” when he liked the meal.

Al regretted not being willing to learn Italian from his parents. He says they would speak Italian and the younger children would answer in English. Nonetheless, his own children grew up hearing “Mangia!” at the supper table and calling a ladle a “goop”. And they always had to have Parmesan cheese with their pasta and their soup. The famous family story is how he and his brother Dave ran down to the store to get cheese when it was discovered there was none in the house - despite the pasta already being on the table. Their wives, Jean and Eva, couldn’t believe it.

In 1923, Al’s mom, Rose, studied with the “International Bible Students” as Jehovah’s Witnesses were called in those days.Thus, he grew up learning about Jehovah God and his wonderful promises to make the earth a paradise again and to resurrect the dead. In high school, he got distracted by sports. He was always grateful that his older brother, Ralph, rekindled his interest. He was baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses on 11/4/51. After that he never lost his love for attending meetings, assemblies and conventions.

He married Jean Frances Selas on October 25, 1952. They were married for 64 years. They had 2 sons and 1 daughter. Sadly, in 1984, their oldest son, Paul Albert Lupo, Jr., died at the age of 30. The hope of the resurrection, to see his son brought back to life and to enjoy living with him in the earthly paradise, brought him great comfort. Al’s faith in the resurrection was so strong that only 2 weeks after his son’s funeral, he gave a funeral talk for a young woman who had tragically died.

Al was zealous for the ministry. In 1964, he and his brother Dave took their young families on a trip to Maine to spread the message in a seldom worked area. He and Jean would Auxiliary Pioneer (preaching 60 hours for one month) at least twice a year. In 1984, he took early retirement so he and Jean could join the ranks of regular or full time pioneers -a privilege he enjoyed to his dying day. How grateful he was for the infirm pioneer arrangement so he could put in whatever hours his health allowed no matter how few. His daughter, Sherri, has a fond memory of when she was a little girl sharing with him in witnessing campaigns to distribute special tracts. She remembers running from house to house. She used to think her father was running but he was just walking fast, she had to run with her little legs to keep up. Thus, she realized the importance of the work.

A song was often on Al’s lips. He knew all the stanzas for “She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain” and “Jingle Bells” yes there are more than 2. Singing Kingdom songs was a highlight of the meetings. How he would powerfully sing out “Jehovah is Our Refuge”.

As we all know, Al loved jokes. The cornier -the better. He could see humor in all sorts of slips of the tongue. He loved people young and old. Young ones were always comfortable with him. He especially loved his grandson Nicholas. Many a day he took him fishing though he himself did not fish.

Al enjoyed sports. He played many in High School. He especially liked weight lifting and running. Hiking the Vermont hills was also a favorite. He did not need fancy equipment or a special field. He played football with his son and young daughter in a small gully in front of their home. They would try to tackle him but he would run down the field with Sherri under one arm and Donald hanging off his leg. Al could hit the longest ball when they played softball. The neighbor boy, Danny, who had no siblings, was always invited to play as part of the family.

As a father, Al worked hard to provide for his family. When his children were little he worked 2 sometimes 3 jobs. He was a mechanic, delivered newspapers and sharpened lawnmowers. He could fix cars and almost anything else around the house. This gift he passed on to his son Donald. Al worked building electric motors at Electric Indicator, in Connecticut, until 1967. Then, he moved his family to White River Junction, Vermont where there was a need for more preachers of the good news. He found a job at Mary Hitchcock Memorial Hospital. He worked first in maintenance and then for many years in the power plant or boiler room. Working the night shift, he had time to study his Bible. He could also indulge his love of reading (a passion he passed on to his children).

Al also enjoyed the privilege of giving Bible based talks. His gift of humor came through even there. He had a talk called “Never Give Up in the Race for Life” a theme burned into the memories of his family - not because they heard it so many times, but how he started the talk by running in place.

Also known as Mr. Coffee Break, Al knew all the best coffee spots when out preaching. This routine led to a fine witness. At his favorite diner in Chelsea, VT, the owners were shy and did not talk much. One week, when his group was on a break, another table of 4 people introduced themselves as Witnesses from out of town. They all started talking and laughing. The next week Al went in by himself to have coffee. To his surprise, the owners began talking to him. Why? They wondered how he knew those people the week before. They were amazed that everyone acted like old friends. Al was able to tell them about our worldwide brotherhood and our God, Jehovah.

It would be remiss if traveling was not mentioned. He and Jean took their children many places. So much so, that the neighbor children pestered their parents to take them on a trip. Especially dear were the trips he and Jean would take to International Conventions of Jehovah’s Witnesses. These took them to Germany, Austria, Spain, Hungary, Russia and Peru. Spain stole their hearts and they returned there just to visit.

As can be seen, the main theme running through Al’s life was serving his great God, Jehovah. His hope and faith in the promised New World, the earthly paradise soon to come, never wavered. His sincerest desire was be alive to see Jehovah remove wickedness and clean up the earth. However, when he is resurrected, his wish will then be to see that all his loved ones made it through to welcome him back. He will then want us to tell him our stories about how our Father, Jehovah, ‘made all things new’. - Revelation 21:3-5.