Deacon Victor R. Petrosino

Victor Petrosino, who inspired students as an educator and touched many lives as an ordained minister, passed away suddenly on November 5th with family at his side. The longtime Harford County resident was 84 years old.

Over a career that spanned 33 years Victor taught social studies courses at Bel Air High, North Harford Middle and C. Milton Wright High. He retired from teaching in 1999, the same year he was ordained a Catholic deacon and assigned to St. Margaret Parish where he and his wife of 62 years, Carol, were members since moving to Bel Air in 1964.

Born in Wheeling, West Virginia, the son of Victor and Melba Petrosino, Victor grew up in Havre de Grace. He graduated from Havre de Grace High School in 1958. In 2014 he was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame. 

In 1959 Victor received an appointment to the United States Military Academy West Point. However, he suffered a serious neck injury during Plebe Summer that ended his enrollment. With the hope of a military career dashed, he turned to education, earning a BS degree in history from Towson State College, a MA on a Fellowship from Ohio State University where he and Carol became faithful Buckeye fans, and subsequently a Master’s in education from Towson.

Victor was named Harford County Teacher of the Year for 1993-94. His style of teaching was unique as he would act out historic figures and sometimes dress the part. “His students would initially think he might be a little out of sorts,” Carol said. “But it gave them a different perspective. It certainly made class interesting.”

“He was an obvious choice,” C. Milton Wright principal at the time, Ronald Webb, commented when he nominated Victor. “He just stands out as someone with an intense interest in the subject matter, an undying enthusiasm and a genuine love for kids.”

During the end of his career as an educator Victor studied at Mt. St. Mary’s Seminary to prepare for his Diaconal ministry. Deacon Vic served St. Margaret-St. Mary Magdalene for a quarter century. He was a popular homilist who often would sprinkle his homilies with historical perspective. “When I deliver a homily, I like to put content into context,” he once said. “When one has an understanding of the historical milieu, the culture, customs and traditions of the times in which events, actions and teachings of Scripture and Church Tradition take place, one gains a deeper insight into what was experienced, what was taught, what was lived – and why. This allows us to take the timeless and universal truths given to us in the past and relate to and live them in the present.”

In addition to his parish duties, Deacon Vic was a familiar figure in the community-at-large. “I remember growing up reading a children’s book about a little engine that could do the impossible,” said St. Margaret pastor, Msgr. Kevin Schenning. “That is what I think about when I think of Deacon Vic. This little Italian person had a big heart and used it to serve the people of God. He showed through baptizing babies, blessing pets, visiting the sick and comforting families who lost loved ones. Vic was that little engine that made Christ visible to all that he served. He will be missed.”

An Auxiliary member of the Legion of Mary and a Third Order Franciscan, Deacon Vic was the chaplain for the Harford County Committee for Veteran Affairs. He routinely visited local nursing homes and assisted living facilities providing spiritual services to the residents. He served as the chaplain-on-call for the Upper Chesapeake Medical Center in Bel Air and Harford Memorial Hospital in Havre de Grace, and previously at the defunct Fallston Hospital. “He was a holy, kind, gentle Franciscan soul,” said the Rev. Dr. Thaddeus Siegel, Director of Spiritual Care Services at UM UCH.

Deacon Vic is survived by his wife and high school sweetheart, Carol, son Gregory, sister Sue Rigler of Havre de Grace, and nephew, William Rigler.

In lieu of flowers the family is asking that donations be made to St. Margaret Parish, (memo) Tuition Assistance or Outreach.