William P. Modoono

William P. Modoono, age 77, passed away peacefully in his home on Sunday, April 12, 2026, with his wife and children by his side.

Bill was born on June 4, 1948, in Malden, Massachusetts, a son of Edward and Marjorie (Murphy) Modoono.

Bill was a writer. His curiosity and his grace with words shaped his life. He made his career in journalism, covering sports for The Pittsburgh Press and The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and then he became a senior writer for UPMC Health Plan. His words bound him to the people he deeply loved. At family gatherings over the years, Bill could be counted on to write the comments that brought people together…and frequently brought them to tears.

He liked plays and going to museums. He loved movies, especially absurdist, subversive comedies by the Marx Brothers or Mel Brooks, and he was quietly witty – sly and quick and dry and droll.

He had a journalist’s hunger for information. What’s going on?  What’s happening? Have you heard about this? And he was always reading, always eager to loan a favorite book. Throughout his retirement, he took numerous Osher classes at the University of Pittsburgh. And while he needed to learn what he didn’t know, to discover new things and new places, he had great affection for the old places he already knew -- for Boston, for Lexington, Massachusetts, where he grew up, for the coast of New England, for the beaches there where he had learned to swim as a kid.

Bill graduated from Lexington High School where he won “most witty” and “nicest smile” in his graduating class. He was chosen to be the class speaker at commencement. It was at Lexington High that Bill met Mary MacDonald, who became his wife of 55 years. He went on to graduate from Rutgers University, where he treasured the friendship of his Tau Delta Phi brothers. He also earned an MA from Penn State University.

Along with Mary, Bill is survived by daughters, Emily Sadler and Elizabeth Yennie (Graham) and son Jesse Modoono; grandsons, Lucas Sadler and Santiago and Mats Modoono; brothers, John (Linda Tremblay) and Edward “Jody” (Mary); sister Carol Hemming (Richard); and many nieces and nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews. He treasured these people. Bill was, above all else, a family man.

A Celebration of Life will be scheduled at a time to be determined.

Arrangements are entrusted to Patrick T. Lanigan Funeral Home & Crematory, Inc., 700 Linden Ave. at Cable, East Pittsburgh, PA 15112, (412) 824-8800.