Former Councilman Paul Calvo Dead at 87

Paul Calvo, who served on Bethlehem City Council for a quarter century, taught in the for 32 years and coached the Bethlehem Catholic High School boys basketball team to two state titles, died at home Saturday.

He was 87 years old. His wife of 52 years, Agnes, preceded him in death in 2002.

Calvo was a World War II Army veteran who served in the Pacific Theatre from 1943 to 1946. During this time he was in the Amphibious Attack Battalion for which his outfit received the Presidential Unit Citation and two Battle Stars for the Mariana Island Campaign, according to the obituary on the Website.

Calvo was a graduate of and , where he was also an assistant football coach while his brother, Rocco Calvo, was head coach from 1954 until 1972.

Calvo served on Bethlehem City Council from 1972 until 1997, serving as council president for four of those years.

Current City Councilman Robert Donchez, who began his tenure as a councilman as Calvo was finishing his, told The Express Times: “Paul was tremendous, he was an outstanding teacher, he was an outstanding basketball coach and he really was an outstanding city councilman.”

Calvo coached boys basketball at from 1954 until 1969. The state champions came in 1960 and 1962.

Calvo is survived by four daughters, eight grandchildren and a brother.

The family will receive friends at the Connell Funeral Home, 245 E. Broad St. from 5 to 8 p.m. today and again on Wednesday from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. at the funeral home.

Funeral services will begin in the funeral home at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial celebrated at 10 a.m. at , 450 Washington Ave. Interment will immediately follow at Holy Saviour Cemetery, Bethlehem.

Memorial contributions may be made to Bethlehem Catholic High School Endowment Fund 2133 Madison Avenue, Bethlehem, PA 18017 and/or the Rocco Calvo Scholarship Fund at Moravian College 1200 Main Street, Bethlehem, PA 18018.