May 26, 1948-December 23, 2024
Al Pietrolungo was born May 26, 1948, and passed away on Dec. 23, 2024. Al grew up in Altoona, Pennsylvania and graduated from the Western Pennsylvania School for Blind Children. Al met his wife, Hope, while at WPSBC, and they were married for more than 50 years. Hope, their sons, four grandchildren, and three great grandchildren are proud of all that Al accomplished in his life.
Al received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh and a master’s degree from St. Francis University. He worked as a social worker for the state of Pennsylvania, and for the Federal government as a mediator at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), where his understanding of and support for the civil rights of working Americans continue, to this day, to make lasting contributions to the body of law that assures workplace fairness for all Americans who labor.
Al wrestled as a high school student and continued with team activities by competing at Audible Darts and Bowling. An excellent chess player himself, Al was a member and staunch supporter of the Blind Division of the United States Chess Federation.
While Al and his family lived in Maryland, he was active in both chapter and affiliate activities of ACB of Maryland. Al’s insight into the protections that civil rights laws and regulations guarantee to people who are blind, and his understanding of the regulatory process, allowed him to make lasting contributions to the safeguards that continue to protect blind pedestrians at street crossings all over the state of Maryland. Blind and visually impaired people who rely on accessible pedestrian signals at street crossings throughout the country can still point to the logic that Al relied upon when ACB of Maryland, under his leadership, convinced state authorities of their obligation to install accessible traffic signals, statewide, as an effective communication for blind pedestrians, as required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Al and Hope were treasured members of the ACB of Maryland affiliate and its chapters, and many members who knew them still reminisce fondly when the subject of Hope’s cookies – and all the money they brought in at convention auctions – comes up in conversation.
After his retirement, when he and Hope moved back to Pennsylvania, Al continued to be active in both state and local activities of the Pennsylvania Council of the Blind and the Golden Triangle Council of the Blind, a chapter of PCB. He became a board member of the affiliate, went to Washington to talk to Pennsylvania legislators, and served as chapter president of GTCB. When he termed out as President, Al became the chapter secretary.
Whether it was putting an accessible pedestrian signal at a dangerous T-intersection or crafting a letter to a local grocery store chain requesting improvements in making services accessible to blind consumers, he was always willing to get a committee or team together to try to solve a problem. He was the lead on the giving committee of GTCB. Each year that committee looked for organizations, both within and outside the blindness community, to support with financial contributions. The choices that the team made, under Al’s humanitarian influence and leadership, always put people first. Al’s advocacy and accessibility efforts continued throughout his life and service. His understanding of laws, his relentlessness in striving to do what was right, and his ability to get people to work together stood him – and all of us who knew him -- in good stead both in his work and his other interests. Al Pietrolungo belongs on the growing list of ACB Angels, and the Golden Triangle chapter of the Pennsylvania Council of the Blind and ACB of Maryland are proud to honor him in this way.
Watch Al Pietrolungo's Angels' Tribute video here