Edgardo Decarli's Obituary
Edgardo Decarli, age 82, died April 24th, 2021. His last act was ensuring his wife and love of his life for 48 years, Carmen Decarli, had moved to Pittsburgh and would be ok. He will be dearly missed by his wife, daughters, grandchildren, and his extended family and friends in the U.S. and Argentina.
Edgardo was born and raised in Argentina. He was modest about his brilliance. In Argentina, he was Valedictorian of his high school class, and he studied economics in a college in Mendoza, Argentina. He taught economics in Mendoza and earned a fellowship to study at the University of Chicago for an Economics Master’s degree. Later he married and raised a family in McLean, Virginia, while he worked as an Economist and leader at the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
He had a full life and will be remembered for being irrepressibly cheeky, logical and caring.
He enjoyed the arts, particularly opera, theater, and foreign films. He was not a fan of most popular films, but notable exceptions were Elf and the cantina scene in Star Wars. Both made him laugh out loud. He appreciated the work of Maggie Smith, Dame Jude Dench, and Meryl Streep, but disliked Jane Austen. He liked Masterpiece Theater before it was cool and disliked it once it was. His love of opera came from his desire as a young boy to irk his grandmother – he would play an opera very loudly at home on his uncle Ernesto’s gramophone, to surprise and startle her. Eventually, he began to like it.
He was an avid reader, and enjoyed sharing a variety of books with his children Sofia (Tom) Sculimbrene and Cecilia (Joe) Satovich. His grandchildren were a great joy in his life, and he enjoyed being a regular part of Miranda and Nick’s lives, enjoying babysitting them when they were small. With his youngest grandchildren, Julia, Katarina, and Maria Satovich, he shared clips from operas on YouTube, and enjoyed watching their startled reactions much like he did with his grandmother many years before.
He frequently amused himself by being just a tiny bit irksome to others – anything that garnered a reaction – like pulling a ponytail slightly out of place, tapping his toe on a toddler’s toe, or asking Carmen which sweater he should wear and then choosing the opposite of what she selected. He was an avid scrabble player.
Edgardo’s logical, almost Spock-like practical outlook provided some gems:
• On dressing casually for the opera: “Why would I dress up? I can afford the ticket”
• On wearing a tuxedo to a dinner cruise: “I bought this 10 years ago and I can still get some use out of it”
• On packing for a trip: “Don’t worry, if you forget something, we’ll just buy it there”
• On traveling without a map or GPS in unfamiliar territory: “It’s ok, we know the language”
• On funeral planning: “Funerals are for the living. Do what would give you the most comfort.”
The quality he liked most in a person was kindness, and he remembered acts of kindness his mom would do for others as he was growing up. He showed his love by taking care of things for his family. He would get up extra early to make a fresh fruit salad. He planned dinners days in advance. He was thoughtful, and frequently did things like sending your favorite flowers or have your favorite foods around.
He also loved in a quiet way - he stored his important documents together with pictures of his grandchildren and their ancestors. His bedside table contained evidence of a life well-lived, with old love letters from his wife, pictures of college friends, an essay by his eldest daughter, letters from his dad, and pictures of his children and grandchildren at all ages.
Visitation will be held Sunday, May 2nd, from 11:00 am-1:00 pm at the Jefferson Memorial Funeral Home 301 Curry Hollow Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15236. A brief memorial service will be held the same day, from 1:00 pm-1:30 pm, at the same location.
Weather permitting, both the visitation and memorial service will be outside at the Garden of the Gospel on the Jefferson Memorial Grounds, just beyond the funeral home parking lot. All in attendance must wear a face covering.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Cancer Society .
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