Robert Yacano

Robert F. Yacano, 76, of Mount Airy, North Carolina, passed away on March 23, 2015 at Forsyth Medical Center.

Born in Norwich on May 24, 1938, Bob was the son of Thomas and Frances (Barbuto) Yacano.
On July 1, 1961, Bob married Angela Leggiero Yacano, who survives. He is also survived by his son, Mark S. Yacano and his wife, Terri Amernick; two grandchildren, Benjamin and Mollie; his sister, Marie Sobers and her husband, James; niece, Laura Sobers Szupinka and her husband, Christopher; great niece, Ericka Szupinka and great nephew, Ethan Szupinka; nephew, Shane Sobers and his wife, Kira,and an uncle, David Yacano and his wife, MaryLou,

He was a 1956 graduate of Norwich High School and earned his bachelor’s degree in musical education from Fredonia State College in 1960. He then went on to receive his Master’s Degree in Education from both Fredonia and Canisius College in Buffalo.

Bob taught instrumental music for 32 years, 3 years at Frontier Central Schools in Hamburg, NY and then 28 years at Eden Central Schools in Eden, NY. He retired from teaching in 1992.

Bob was a collector. He started collecting stamps in college and specialized in U.S. stamps. He put his collecting interests aside and became interested in collecting a tropical fish called Killfish and even went to South America with a National Geographic group in 1968. Bob developed an international reputation for his skill in breeding and raising this species of tropical fish.

When his interest in tropical fish waned, Bob returned to collecting stamps. This time it was the stamps of the Philippine Islands that drew his interest. This led to a successful mail order stamp business that became international in scope. He was well respected for his philatelic knowledge and ethical business practices. His personal collection of stamps and documents of the 1898-1901 Revolution in the Philippine Islands was the basis of gold medal exhibits and the writing of two books on the subject. Many considered this collection one of the best ever assembled.

For many years, Bob was the U.S. Coordinator of a Philippine Stamp Organization and editor of their quarterly journal. He received a special award for his many years of service.

In 1988, Bob and his wife, Angela, moved to North Carolina. During this time, he learned to turn wood on a lathe and became a very skilled craftsman. He shared his finished work with family and friends. He also enjoyed tropical fish again by building an outside pond for goldfish and water plants. The best part of the move to North Carolina was that he and Angela were close to family and were able to spend quality time with their son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren, sisters, brothers-in-law and nieces and nephews.

Bob’s hobbies were sources of learning, joy and friendships. He developed many special friendships through his stamp collecting and wood turning.

A Mass of Christian Burial for Bob will be held at 10:00 am on Friday, August 7, 2015 at St. Bartholomew’s Church with Rev. Ralph Bove, pastor officiating. Burial will take place in St. Paul’s Cemetery. There will be no calling hours.

Bob’s family encourages everyone to support Alzheimer’s disease research as this is the disease that took from Bob what should have been the best years of family joy and love, the pleasure of stamp collecting and the growth of his wood artistry.