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Mike Emendorfer posted a condolence
Monday, December 30, 2024
Dick Milano led an extraordinary life and touched the hearts of countless
individuals, making it challenging to know where to start. Few people
encountered Coach Milano without the encounter leaving a lasting
impression. He possessed an exceptional ability to connect with others, to
understand them, and to make them feel valued and important.
One of my earliest memories with Coach Milano is when he was my 8th-grade
math teacher. While he excelled in teaching math, his true strength lay in his
ability to uplift others and instill confidence. As an average student, I often felt
like I was just getting by, yet he made me believe I was an A student. The truth
is, he relished having aspiring football players like me, in his classroom.
I got to know Coach Milano as an adult during the summers in Platteville when
he and my mentor, Doug Cooper, would come to coach the Pioneers. Dick
became the talk of the town, often seen at the local tavern sharing laughs with
Coop and the community.
In this time of profound loss, let us focus not on mourning the absence of Dick
Milano but on celebrating his vibrant spirit. Let his remarkable life inspire us to
embrace our individuality, to paint our own lives with unique colors, and to live
with the passion that defined Coach Milano.
Mike Emendorfer
M
Mike Emendorfer posted a condolence
Monday, December 30, 2024
Dick Milano led an extraordinary life and touched the hearts of countless
individuals, making it challenging to know where to start. Few people
encountered Coach Milano without the encounter leaving a lasting
impression. He possessed an exceptional ability to connect with others, to
understand them, and to make them feel valued and important.
One of my earliest memories with Coach Milano is when he was my 8th-grade
math teacher. While he excelled in teaching math, his true strength lay in his
ability to uplift others and instill confidence. As an average student, I often felt
like I was just getting by, yet he made me believe I was an A student. The truth
is, he relished having aspiring football players like me, in his classroom.
I got to know Coach Milano as an adult during the summers in Platteville when
he and my mentor, Doug Cooper, would come to coach the Pioneers. Dick
became the talk of the town, often seen at the local tavern sharing laughs with
Coop and the community.
In this time of profound loss, let us focus not on mourning the absence of Dick
Milano but on celebrating his vibrant spirit. Let his remarkable life inspire us to
embrace our individuality, to paint our own lives with unique colors, and to live
with the passion that defined Coach Milano.
Mike Emendorfer
D
David Adelizi posted a condolence
Saturday, December 28, 2024
Milano Eulogy
Good afternoon
I would like to take some time to share, as well as, celebrate the earthly life of my friend Richard Milano. Dick had asked for a private burial service and his wishes were met. But it felt important for some of his friends and family to have an opportunity to say goodbye. So here we are today and we thank you for honoring him by your presence today and also those who have shared their memories of him on line.
Now, if you will allow me, I would like to share some of my special moments with him as well as some important thoughts about his life that I was able to discover and experience during our 45 years of friendship.
First of all, I will start by saying that, “There was and will always be only one Richard Milano.” The person we all most often referred to as coach. You know you could always pick him out a mile away. All you needed to look for was the blue gym shorts, those dark sunglasses, his what he called comfort sneakers with the hole in the toe and of course his famous sailor hat.
But to truly appreciate him, you had to go back to his beginning’s to fully see how past experiences influenced his personality and demeanor. So, I would like to quickly recap a little about his life. From the day he was born, God tested his will to survive and strive to live a life of value. He was Born in Harlem, NY in 1931 during depressed times. At the young age of 10 he went to work alone as a shoe shine boy in Grand Central Station to earn his keep. Having a difficult home life during his teen years and even having his life threatened, he was forced to leave home at 15 and pretty much find his own way; struggling sometimes day by day, night by night, to find places to live along the way. He finally found a loving farm family willing to take him in. He would do his chores in the morning including milking the cows prior to high school, attend school, and yes, found a love for the game of football in which he excelled. He always told me that football at that time in his life was a God send because it aloud him to manage any frustrations or anger that he had in his life in a positive way. In 1953 he joined the Airforce where he served as an airplane mechanic which well suited his keen mind and intelligence. Along the way he attended Michigan State where he engaged in engineering courses and decided to continue his passion by going out for the football team as a walk on. He impressed the coaches until he sustained an injury that kept him from continuing to play.
Sometime during this part of his life, he became enamored with sailing and skiing which became an important part of his future life both at TYC and Hollimont.
In the years that followed he married, had children, and taught Math at Lockport’s Emmett Belnap Junior High School. And of course, he continued his love of playing football with several local semi-pro teams including the Lackawanna Lancers. Again, showing his survivability he played offensive guard at 5’10, 240 lbs. against college Division 1 All Americans and played to the age of 40. And of course, later, continued an active life after teacher retirement continuing to do the things he loved sailing, skiing and coaching football.
One of the things that quickly grew our friendship over the years was not just that Dick was an amazing caring and protective friend but that he was an amazing teacher. Not just on the football field but in the classroom. I can’t tell you the number of his students that we meant along the way who commented on this and the number of high school math teachers that thanked him for the work he did to prepare students for the high school regents’ exams.
On the football field he was unbelievable at making football players the best they could be. Together we coached High School, Semi Pro football and volunteered at the University of Wisconsin at Platteville were Coach shared his wisdom off and on since 1999. He was so good at what he did that over 45 years theirs no one I could find that had the knowledge, experience, teaching skill, and caring for the offensive line players that he worked with. Along with that he was a constant learner and continued to strive to maintain knowledge of current skills. He had a special fire for the game.
Lastly, I want to Talk about Living with Coach. This was our fun time.
As we have been told often. You really get to know some one when you live with them. When coaching in Platteville, Dick and I sometimes lived together for months at a time in a small hotel room day in and day out 24 hrs a day. What you see is what you got with Coach. No matter what the circumstance he was always true to his personality. You could count on that. Coach was kind, caring and respectful, but at times he could be gruff, opinionated, stubborn and downright ornery. I guess the description can pretty much fits all of us at times. I mention all of these traits because experiencing them with him created some of the most memorable and fun times of our relationship. Although we were close and he was always protective of me, at times we also had some interesting disagreements. Many of those times would happen on our trip to and our stay in Platteville, Wisconsin to coach football. You see Platteville just like TYC was like a second home to him and everybody their new coach and loved him.
The following was typical of all our trips over the years.
Platteville was 15 hrs drive for me and of course I was always anxious to get their as quick and safe as possible. Dick would always force me to stop in the first hour so he could get his coffee and breakfast sandwich at McDonalds, I would say,” Please Dick can we wait till later”. “No, I need it now”. “Okay.” Every trip he had to have his morning coffee and breakfast sandwich. He couldn't live without it. While eating and drinking he would always follow it with two of his most famous words: "Wow!!!!" and "Delicious".
Coach hated the GPS in my car. He fought with the lady and me the whole way. Don't listen to her she doesn't know what she’s doing. Shes wrong. You got to go this way. Dick, stop she knows what she’s doing. I’m telling you she’s wrong. This would go on the whole trip. Finally on our last trip he gave in and made peace with her.
Dick was very sentimental at times. When we got to the hotel in Platteville, he had to stay in the same room room # 207 for our stay to be right. That room held a large number of memories for him. And the couple that owned the hotel, who had become are friends, made sure every year that he could stay in that same room. Coach was like family to them. Every time we got there he would sit on the bed and reminisce about his past stays and the importance of the room.
Coach loved Chinese food and we would go to the local Chinese buffet several times a week. There is where you would most likely hear two of his three most popular words again. Wow and Delicious. And if really good you would here wow followed immediately with delicious. The third most popular word I can’t mention here. While eating we would sit and reminisce about the day’s activities. Because the team knew we often went there, the entire offensive line that he worked joined us there on Thursday nights to have a together meal sitting at the big table next to us. He loved it. And he always walked out of the place eating his must have ice cream cone.
Platteville had a famous bar that everybody went to. It was a double wide trailer with also an outside bar area and an attached Uno’s Pizzeria/Restaurant. Busloads of people came from all over to go there. All the locals knew coach and loved him. The owner also loved Dick and refused to let us pay for anything. He also told the bartenders you give Coach whatever he needs and if you don’t take care of him, I will fire you. Dick would want to go their almost every night to have his one Manhattan before going back to the room to call it a night. 3 memorable scenes would often take place at the Bar:
Dick was very specific about the content of his Manhattans. He would make the bartenders mix them in front of him with specific control over the amount of each of the contents. And O yes, the drink had to always be topped with two cherries.
Coach loved anchovies. So, we would order pizza half with anchovies. However, when the pizza came to the table the entire pizza tasted like anchovies as did everyone’s clothes and the entire bar. None of the other coaches wanted to eat it less smell it. And of course, we would hear another, “wow-delicious”.
Now this is one of those is it true or not stories. When sitting at the bar coach would start a conversation with someone he didn’t know and the conversation would go on for hours. This happened all the time over all the years. Sometimes they would be in tears as the would tell him all of their problems. Their life stories. I’m talking seriously private stuff. We would sit in disbelief as we listened to the conversations. It was like we were sitting next to Dr Phil. He has this special quality about him that allowed people to tell private things about themselves you wouldn’t believe. We were always in awe.
At night back in the hotel room, Coach was the king of the TV remote. He wouldn't let it out of his hands. He loved 1940 movies which we had to watch every night. I hated them. I would wait till he fell asleep so I could change the channel to something I liked but he clenched the remote so tight I could never get it out of his hand when he was asleep. So, for years I was deprived of my TV shows. After several years of that I finally got smart and fixed the problem by going to our friends that owned the hotel and getting a second remote that I’d hide in the draw until he fell asleep.
And finally, Dick hated the air conditioner. At nights in the hotel room, he would argue with me about the air conditioning. “Turn it off.” “You're a gosh darn Eskimo,” he would say. “Dick, it was 110 on the Astro turf during the day and we need to cool off.” “You're a gosh darn Eskimo.” We would laugh and he would pull up the covers and leave his hat on so his head wouldn't get cold.
He left me with so many good memories. I loved him and sometimes through a rough exterior, a kinder man you could not find. I will miss him but know he is now in a good place talking football, skiing down the slopes, having his one nightly Manhattan with two cherries and sailing along in the clouds.
Thank you for listening.
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Moria Holl posted a condolence
Friday, December 27, 2024
Coach stayed with us for 20 years while he coached at the University of Wisconsin Platteville. I cannot express how much his stories and antics brought us joy over the years. There was something about him.He was everything that you picture when you hear the words coach and friend. He will be forever missed.
Moria Holl
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Sharolyn Verkest posted a condolence
Wednesday, December 18, 2024
Sorry to hear. Mr. Milano was the first teacher that made me love math. Rest in peace ❤️
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Dick Mullaney posted a condolence
Monday, December 16, 2024
Sorry to hear of Coach Milano's passing. A tough exterior but a good hearted man.
I have fond memories of 8th grade math class at EB & later our LSHS Lions football team. My condolences to his loved ones. May he Rest in Peace.
Dick Mullaney '71
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Mark Farrell posted a condolence
Saturday, December 14, 2024
To the family of Dick “Coach” Milano,
Mr Milano was my math teacher at Emmet Belknap. Years later I spent many years skiing with Coach as members of Holimont Ski Patrol, and as boating friends and members of Tuscarora Yacht Club. Dick was a good friend, gentleman, and always available to help anyone in need. My condolences to the family and friends. Mark Farrell.
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Andy Robinson posted a condolence
Friday, December 13, 2024
Coach was a great math teacher, football coach, and friend… he will be remembered and missed. Rest in peace Coach…

A Memorial Tree was planted for Richard Milano
Wednesday, December 11, 2024
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Susan Fritz-Smith posted a condolence
Wednesday, December 11, 2024
To the Family of Richard Milano,
Mr. Milano was my eighth-grade math teacher at Emmett Belknap Jr. HIgh in Lockport. He inspired me to study hard, show respect, and never get caught daydreaming. Math was not my favorite subject, so I often drifted off to another planet when he taught math through football diagrams with math lessons on the chalkboard. I always ensured I was a chapter ahead knowledge-wise in case he caught me dazing off. I'll never forget the day he called on me to answer a math problem when I was doing that. Thank goodness I knew the answer. His response was. "you know what you're doing, go back to sleep." P.S.: My parents were excited when I came home with an A that year—my condolences on your loss.
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The family of Richard Milano uploaded a photo
Wednesday, December 11, 2024
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