Ron "RT" Scafone

Ronald Thomas “RT” Scafone was born September 30, 1947 at Providence Hospital in Washington, D.C. At that time, his parents James C. Scafone, Sr. and Irene “Rene” F. (Rollings) Scafone
resided in Alexandria, Virginia with their first son, James “Skip” C. Scafone, Jr. Within six (6) months of RT’s birth, the young family moved to their first home on Red Top Road in Chillum, Maryland. In 1950, the family was blessed with one more son, Michael “Mike” P. Scafone.

The paternal Scafone family rotated gatherings from one to another throughout the year. The children enjoyed watching their parents interact with their siblings, and cherished playing with their
cousins. As the families grew, Gran (James, Sr.) hosted a spaghetti dinner for his children, their family and Rene’s cousin. It was another fun event for the next generation, the grandchildren—who could put the most pitted black olives on their fingers?

The Chillum neighborhood attracted young families with children due to its proximity to the parks, schools and churches within walking distance. Little did the Scafone’s know that they would
remain in that neighborhood for 27 years while both the parents and their children made life-long friendships with Jimmie Mitchell, the Pirrone’s, the Loeffler’s, the Looney’s, the Mongello’s , the
Jordan’s, the Shedlock’s and many others. RT attended Our Lady of Sorrows, Ridgecrest Elementary, Rollingcrest Jr. High School and graduated from Northwestern High School in 1966.

It was in 1963, at the age of 16, RT joined the Chillum-Adelphi Volunteer Fire Department, truck #44 located at the top of Red Top Road and Riggs Road. Numerous of the greater Chillum area boys had the fever, joined 44 and cemented wonderful friendships throughout the years. Yes, they fought fires, helped in the 1968 riots, rescued animals and people during their time off from their primary jobs. Together, as their families grew, they also partied at Superbowl games with the Scafone’s, St. Patrick Days at Jimmy Larkins annually, overnight pool parties with Micky Pirrone, Autumn Apple festival with Dick McGowan’s family and camped at Gibson Island. Many of the guys, including RT, qualified as life members after ten (10) years of service and running a set number fire/rescue missions and attending monthly meetings. There are stories that should be documented from the good ‘ole days with the older role models who were part of the original crew that started #44 that will make your tummy and your cheeks sore from laughter while tears run down your face.

In 1967 Ron began a 17-year career at the neighborhood bank, Suburban Trust Company (now known as Bank of America). While there, one of his co-workers, Sandy (Waldecker) Richard, introduced RT to his future wife who was also from the Chillum neighborhood and a 1970 graduate of Northwestern. Sue Ann Gallagher and RT were married in 1974 at St. John Baptist de la Salle Catholic Church in Chillum, Maryland. They moved to an apartment on Dean Drive, a stone’s throw away from Prince George’s Plaza. Nicole “Nicky” arrived in 1975 and Joseph “Joe” followed in 1977, just after the family rented a single-family home in College Park Estates. In 1982, the family bought their first tri-plex home on Manorwood Drive in Hyattsville, Maryland. They became active parishioners at St. Jerome Catholic Church and school where they found many more wonderful neighbors and cherished memories. The kids participated in several sports programs; RT and Sue Ann loved attending the games and other functions at the school. During this time, RT started a part-time job at the Cap Centre as an usher in the suites. It afforded him the luxury of seeing and meeting celebrities like John Riggins of the sports and Candice Bergen of the entertainment world as well as receiving comp tickets from time to
time for wrestling and concerts events that the family enjoyed.

By 1984, RT finally secured a full-time position as a mail carrier in Bethesda, Maryland. Sue Ann was taken aback when she called his office one day to speak with him and the response was that no one by that name worked there. Then the employee stated, but there is a “Capone”—the nickname the folks there had given him. RT remained with the U.S. Postal Service in the same location for thirty (30) years; retiring January 31, 2014.

Ron was a laid back, easy to get along with guy who sported a beautiful smile and if you asked (although you may need some plyers to pry it out of him) he would tell you exactly what he thought
about a situation without any sugar coating. He was not very affectionate, but RT loved his family dearly. He was proud of his children and their accomplishments. He also enjoyed watching TV, including war, police procedure dramas, fire-fighting, detective, medical, movies and TV shows--including anything with John Wayne and westerns (hence the western theme at the memorial gathering). Family Feud and The Tonight Show were also favorites. A popular and competitive game in our house during TV watching was, “Do you know who that is?” Followed by rapid guessing, “It’s so and so.” “No, it’s not!”, “Yes it is!” and rapid searches on the IMDB app or website to prove our point first.

Retirement was not the golden years Ron envisioned; he spent most of his “free” time at doctors’ offices or hospitals from 2017 – 2023. One of his lungs was removed in 2017, ten days later his
body was attacked by Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS) which required 8 weeks of acute physical and occupational therapy to learn how to perform the simplest daily tasks like moving, walking, bathing and buttoning a shirt. Determination allowed him to return home without a permanent wheelchair and he shed the walker by his 70th birthday. We celebrated at Krispy Kreme donuts! In January, 2019, another tiny spot on the left lung was eradicated by CyberKnife Lazer technology. Yeah, no cuts or stitches! By May of 2021, RT suffered with anemia, but neither tests nor procedures revealed a source for the loss of blood. He began going to the hematology lab for 1-hour appointments on 5 consecutive days each month. Finally, the source of the bled was discovered and cauterized a week before his passing. He returned home for one night and was rushed to the ER the very next morning. An autopsy revealed a blood clot in his left lung; he was too weak to battle one more time.

Survivors are his wife of 48 years, Sue Ann Scafone, his children Nicole (Nicky) Scafone, Joseph (Joe) Scafone, his sister-in-laws: Kathy Humphrey, Barbara Scafone and Lois Scafone, nieces Francine (Michael) Krivka, Jenniffer Scafone and Shanna Scafone Lord; his nephew, Thomas (Gloria) Scafone, cousin-in-law, Linda Honke and many cousins on the Scafone and Rollings side as well as long-time friends, especially, Jimmie Mitchell, Red Top Road neighborhood, St. Jerome’s neighborhood and co-workers from STC, USPS, and Cap Centre.

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