IT IS WITH A MIXTURE OF SADNESS AND LOVE that we share the news that our favorite songbird has flown the coop.  "Uncle Angelo" Banchero left this world that we know at 7am the morning of February 26.  We enjoyed the last week visiting with him for hours on end at VA Palo Alto, and playing all of the favorite music he had loved over the years.  His interests were varied and ranged from Buck Owens to Benny Goodman to Elvis, with a little sprinkling of '50s and '60s movie theme songs in-between.  Angelo was a walking encyclopedia of sports history and usually wound up sending the "young guys" in the family to Google-check the stats that he was rattling off.  Angelo was always right!  It was much the same with celebrities of the entertainment world.  And singing!  He could remember at least one-verse-and-the-chorus from his own personal collection of hits.....and loved to "wow the crowds" in his living room with his command of all the details.  He was a hoot to sing with, always taking the melody line and leaving the harmony to others.  He loved his hometown of Redwood City and had a million more stories to pull out of his hat about "that" small-town subject, ranging from how much it cost to go see a movie (with concessions) at the Sequoia Theater in 1937....to how much his mother Olympia paid for an Italian Cream Cake at Paisano Bakery in 1963.  He loved the comparisons of "then and now" and always felt that he had gotten the better part of the bargain for having been born when things were a lot cheaper. He crossed the globe to serve in the US Army in wartime Korea, and Japan surrendered three weeks after he arrived there.  The balance of his shortened tour was served in the Army of Occupation, and next thing you know he was on the ship heading back to the States.  His recall never failed to the end, and he loved sharing the lifetime of knowledge that he had stored away.  He was a uniquely happy person and we are feeling the void already.  We love you, Angelo.  The VA nurses and all of your helpers love you!  You will be greatly missed by everyone who was ever fortunate enough to cross your path. ️