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Dario Michael Raschio MA ’49

Dario Michael Raschio MA ’49, April 5, 2015, in Portland. The son of Italian immigrants, Dario graduated from Oregon State College in 1938 and taught high school science until enlisting in the navy and serving as a pilot in the Pacific. In 1944, he was shot down while operating a floatplane and was rescued by a U.S. Navy destroyer, whose crew spotted a shark circling below the wreckage on which Dario and his crewmate floated. After the war, Dario married Maria Dardano and built a home in Eastmoreland, where they raised their three children. After earning an MA from Reed, Dario taught at Franklin High School, covering the subjects biology, chemistry, physics, aeronautics, and driver’s ed. A “dapper dresser,” he augmented his teacher’s salary by selling men’s suits at Meier & Frank. He grew tomatoes; was a runner; played tennis, racquetball, and handball; and he loved to dance. He was active in the parish of St. Michael the Archangel Church, having been baptized, confirmed, and married there. At the age of 100, he was honored for his heroic war service by Oregon senator Ron Wyden. Dario is survived by a son and two daughters, including Pamela Brown MAT ’69; three grandchildren; one great-grandchild; and his dance partner and companion, Karyn Conlon.

Appeared in Reed magazine: September 2015

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