October 9, 1925 - November 12, 2021

Louis Michael Panagini, Jr. passed away on November 12, 2021 at the age of 96.

Louis was born to Louis M. Panagini, Sr. and Isabel E. Scalzo on October 9, 1925 in Brooklyn, New York. He had two older sisters, Dorothea Bellafiore and Ruth Bartos and one younger brother, Robert. Louis excelled in art, especially watercolor painting, calligraphy and cartooning. He studied at the Art Students’ League in New York City. He worked in the Art Department, and later in Management, for Deluxe Check Printers for 39 years. He taught watercolor painting for six years at the Montclair Art Museum in Montclair, New Jersey. He also spent two summers in Hangzhou, China at the Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts, studying Chinese calligraphy and watercolor. He was a member of Whisky Painters of America, a selective miniature watercolor society.

Louis met his first wife Betty (Moreland) in high school, in Tuxedo, NY. They were married on October 19, 1952 in Arden, NY, and God blessed them with one child, Susan. They lived in Montclair, Nutley, West Caldwell, and Columbus, New Jersey. Louis and Betty did everything together, traveling to three different continents to visit their daughter and family. Betty influenced Louis making an incredible impact on his life, spiritually, in his art ventures, in their Vermont second home, and as his constant companion for forty-five years. “Betty and Lou” provided a great example of a Christian marriage. Betty preceded Louis in death, passing away in 1998.

After Louis moved to Colorado Springs in 1999 to be near his daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren, he met and married his second wife, Shirley Oswald Schnobrich on August 23, 1999. After 16 years of marriage, Shirley passed away in 2015.

Louis made an impression on all those who met him. His attentive and artistic manner inspired friendship with strangers and family alike. He was also keen to include others in his projects and was a teacher and mentor to many. He inspired others through his disciplined hard work, his humorous life stories and his lessons from the “school of hard knocks.” He loved to ask challenging questions. Two of his repeated expressions were “less is more” and “honor and acknowledge.”

Throughout his entire life, Louis was always very active, playing table tennis into his 90’s. He was continually creating new art projects, using mediums that ranged from watercolor painting to woodworking, apple carving to restoring sap buckets, painting on clothing to painting furniture, and sign painting to cartooning. He loved the outdoors and taught others to love it too through long hours invested with his extended family in his forested properties in Wilmington, Vermont and later in Divide, Colorado. Louis was a beekeeper, the President of the Essex County (NJ) Beekeepers Association, and had gardens of flowers, fruits, and vegetables. He extracted honey from his hives and processed it with his wife, Betty. He gave hundreds of enthusiastic watercolor demonstrations at women’s clubs, garden clubs, and community organizations all over the New York City metropolitan area. He loved sharing his love of art with people and including them in his projects. Life was always an adventure with him. 

Louis was a strong Catholic all of his life and frequently joined with his family in ministry and church activities. He faithfully attended church all of his 96 years and was known by every priest, pastor, and missionary he had the chance to meet.

He is survived by his sister, Dorothea, his daughter Susan (Tim), his two grandchildren, Julie, and David (Keila), his nephews and nieces, and a multitude of others whom he always considered part of his family and who lovingly considered him like family.

A service remembering Louis Panagini will be held at the First Church of the Nazarene, Kansas City, Missouri on Saturday, November 20, 2021, at 2pm (CT).  All are invited. Church Address: 11811 State Line Rd, Kansas City, MO 64114. The service will be livestreamed at:

kcfc.org  / KC First Church of the Nazarene / watch

you.tube.com / KC First Church of the Nazarene

Facebook / KC First Church of the Nazarene - Videos