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Serpento remembered as hard-worker

By Rebekah Sungala 3 min read

Joe Serpento lived by the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” The 78-year-old retired pharmacist, who died Monday morning, always treated others with respect, often going above and beyond the call of duty, his family said.

“He went the extra mile to help people all of the time,” said Serpento’s nephew, Jim O’Neil of Uniontown.

Serpento, who was born in Fairchance and later moved to New Salem, owned several pharmacies up until his retirement three years ago: Fairchance Pharmacy, New Salem Pharmacy and the Joe Serpento Pharmacy in Republic.

Growing up, O’Neil said he can remember several times when his uncle would get out of bed and leave the house in the middle of the night because someone called and said they were sick and needed medicine from the pharmacy.

In addition to being a dedicated pharmacist, O’Neil said his uncle was a hard worker.

In a 2002 interview with the Herald-Standard, Serpento, who was 75 years old at the time, said he didn’t know what he would do if he wasn’t busy at one of his pharmacies.

Serpento primarily operated the New Salem pharmacy, while O’Neil and his brother, Dave O’Neil of Chalk Hill, who both are pharmacists, operated the Fairchance and Republic pharmacies.

“What would I do? I still like to count pills, and I’m not tired of it a bit. I work 12-hour days, seven days a week. I’d be lost if I didn’t,” he said.

According to the newspaper article, Serpento’s interest in pharmacy began while he worked as a teenager, cutting grass and trimming shrubs in his local neighborhood.

Serpento said a man named “Dr. Gretznew,” a German compound physician he did yard work for, would allow him to watch as he mixed medicines.

“That’s how I really got interested in it,” he said.

Serpento’s interest in medicine rubbed off on his two nephews, who decided to follow in their uncle’s footsteps and become pharmacists.

Serpento, according to Jim O’Neil, “was tickled” when he found out both his nephews were going to school for pharmacy.

Jim O’Neil said his uncle is going to be missed by a lot of people, noting that several of his regular customers were like family members to him.

“Joe was very well known,” Jim O’Neil said. “He was also the most honest and caring businessman I ever knew.”

In addition to medicine, Jim O’Neil said Serpento was interested in carpentry and woodworking, and often fixed anything that needed repaired at one of the pharmacies.

“He did it all,” he said.

Jim O’Neil said he and his brother took over ownership of Serpento Pharmacies Inc. a few years ago, but that Serpento never lost interest in the business.

“The man was tireless, and he loved to work,” Jim O’Neil said.

Serpento is survived by his wife, Virginia, and several family members, including a brother, Santino Serpento of Morgantown, W.Va.; a sister, Mabel Sementa of Fairchance; and several nephews, nieces and cousins.

The Robert T. Kish Funeral Home in New Salem is handling funeral arrangements.

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