Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 8/9/23 – From Staff Report and Obituary from Donohue Funeral Home
The Philadelphia lacrosse community is mourning the passing of Michael O. Pansini, 63, of Villanova, a prominent supporter of the Philadelphia Lacrosse Association and major sponsor of Phillylacrosse.com.
Michael passed away on August 5, 2023.
Born in Bronx, NY, he was the devoted son of Oronzo and Maria (née Pietrantonio) Pansini.
Michael was the beloved husband of Elisa M. (née Mendez Rivera) Pansini; loving father of Bridget, Laura (Alex Parkinson), Maria, and Natalie; caring brother of Anna Berardi (Marco) and Frank Pansini (Renée); adoring uncle of Alexandra (Howard), Marc, Julia, Christina, Isabella, Sofia, and Enzo and great-uncle of Avery and Luca.
Michael was a Gold (Major) sponsor of the PLA Golf Tournament for years. He also has sponsored the Pansini Law Group Scholar-Athlete of the Week feature on Phillylacrosse.com for 8 seasons, The Scholar-Athletes are recognized for their combination of excellence in academics, service, and lacrosse.
Michael was very active in his charitable work outside of athletics. He regularly donated substantial time and money to his favorite causes. He created the Pansini Pearls Scholarship at his alma mater, the Johns Hopkins University, which supports minority students who attend Hopkins and are from the Philadelphia area. He also endowed the Michael O. Pansini Office of the Dean at his alma mater, Villanova University School of Law.
He was a lover of all animals and will be especially missed by his dogs Max, Cooper, and his grand dog Oliver.
A devoted, loving father, family man, and loyal friend, he loved going to all his daughters’ sports games. Despite his diagnosis, he made it to every single one of their games, a vocal fan on the sidelines cheering everyone on. Three of Michael’s daughters, Laura, Maria and Natalie, were standout lacrosse players at Agnes Irwin.
“Mike Pansini was one-of-a-kind. A big man in stature, with an even bigger heart. Mike lived his life with great passion and an overwhelming love for his family and friends. He had a taste for life, and for everything that makes you feel like you’re living it to the fullest. He lit up every room he walked into with his joyful personality that emanated concern and warmth for every person he met. As a college athlete himself and a lover of all sports and competitive endeavors, he saw the value and empowerment that sports could deliver to his daughters, their friends, and their classmates.
“There was no bigger ‘behind the scenes’ supporter of Philadelphia lacrosse, particularly girls’ lacrosse. Despite the busiest of schedules as a prominent attorney, he was always there to support on the sidelines. He was instrumental in growing the women’s game in Puerto Rico, where his wife’s family hailed from. He will be greatly missed on the fields and off, but his legacy of contributions to the game of lacrosse lives on through his daughters and all the other players who benefitted from his generosity. – Jenny “Coach Duck” Duckenfield
“Mike Pansini was a special supporter of Philly lacrosse and Phillylacrosse.com. He took such great pride in sponsoring the Pansini Law Group Scholar-Athlete award because he was so passionate about recognizing student-athletes who excelled on and off the field. He also was so pleased to work with us at Phillylacrosse, knowing I was an educator and middle school girls’ coach myself and wanted to make this award a real part of the website.” – Chris Goldberg, Founder/Owner/Editor of Phillylacrosse.com
Michael attended Iona Prep High School and went on to continue his education at John Hopkins University for Undergraduate and Villanova Law School for Graduate School. He devoted his life to helping people, as evidenced in his life’s work as an Attorney, Founder and Managing Partner of Pansini, Mezrow and Davis.
Michael loved spending time at Tramonto in Avalon, watching the sunsets, going onto the dock at his house in Avalon and listening to his favorite music. He had a deep love for a diverse range of music. His master playlist of thousands of songs was called “Michael’s Super Playlist”.
He loved attending all the Philly sports especially the Phillies, Eagles, Sixers and Flyers. He enjoyed collecting cars, wine and celebrating with shots of his favorite tequila (Don Julio 1942)
Relatives and friends are invited to his Funeral Mass 1:00 PM Monday, August 14, 2023 at St. Katharine of Siena Church, 104 S. Aberdeen Ave, Wayne, PA 19087. Entombment Calvary Cemetery, West Conshohocken, PA.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are requested to the Barn Sanctuary, https://www.barnsanctuary.org/donate
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Michael O. Pansini, please visit our flower store.
