Obituary of Salvatore Battaglia

Sal was born on May 21, 1936 in Kansas City, MO to Mary and Nunzio Battaglia. He grew up as the middle son of five brothers: Joe, Tony (aka "Red"), Frankie and Jimmy. When Sal was 27 yrs old, he met his best friend, Beverly and made her his wife in February 1966. In February 1978 he and Beverly were baptized together and have served Jehovah faithfully together ever since. Sal and Bev did most everything with each other. Whether running their own restaurants or working together at Ecolab whose moto is "making the world cleaner, safer and healthier" - how appropriate. They even loved spending their free time together, playing cards, having lunch dates or just going "twirling" (shopping). But Sal most enjoyed the time he spent talking about Jehovah with his service partner, Bev. They raised three children: Gina, Tina and Sal Jr, who gave them 6 grandchildren Geary, Adrianne, Alyssia, Jake, Julionna, Giovanni and twin great grandchildren, Hayden and Lincoln. Sal was always very family oriented, which he learned from his parents who started the tradition of eating basta every Sunday with his large Kansas City family. He carried on that tradition decades later with his family and many friends, even down to his last Sunday. Sal always used to say he spent the first 40yrs of his life doing whatever he wanted but the second 40yrs was when he really spent his time wisely, serving Jehovah. Sal spent every day exuding an appreciation for life, finding pleasure in the simple beauty of grass on a golf course, feeding people a good meal, crooning to the oldies or just playing a hand of pinochle with friends and family. Even when he found out he was terminally ill, he remained hopeful and positive. He kept telling the doctors he didn't even feel sick and would casually mention how he went to the gym four times a week and could leg press 300lbs! It could be said he faced a difficult test of faith during his last week of life when the doctors told him if he didn't accept a blood transfusion he would certainly die. He illustrated his faith to one nurse this way, "Think of how much you learned in a few years of school about your profession, now imagine what I've learned in the 40 years I've studied the Bible." Sal's response was simple and clear, he was going to put his trust in Jehovah who would provide him with the real life soon to come (Ps 146:3). Sal set a fine example throughout his life as someone who demonstrated love for Jehovah and love for others. When Sal reflected on the promised hope in the Paradise, he said he looked most forward to the time when he would be able to help others build their houses (Is 65:21). In his final days, Sal said he hoped his faith in Jehovah would encourage others to always look to Jehovah as the Source of comfort and real hope for the future.