Anthony Joseph Agresta

Anthony J. Agresta, 91, passed peacefully to the Lord on Friday, May 29, at the VA Victory House facility in Walterboro. His Mass of Christian Burial will be held Tuesday, June 2, 2015, in Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, 5 St. Teresa Drive, at 10:00 a.m. The Prayers of Final Commendation and Farewell will be held in Live Oak Memorial Gardens. The family will receive friends Monday, June 1, 2015, in J. HENRY STUHR INC., WEST ASHLEY CHAPEL, 3360 Glenn McConnell Parkway, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Anthony was born February 4, 1924, one of eleven children of an Italian immigrant, the late Rafael Agresta and Francesca Di Nicola Agresta. He was a U.S. Coast Guard WWII veteran having served in Charleston and the Pacific. A native of Hazleton, PA, a long-time resident of Charleston and New York, NY, he was a renowned trombonist, having performed with widely known "Big Bands" including the Dorsey Brothers and Sammy Kaye. Mr. Agresta's music career took him to many parts of the world, where he played for a wide array of audiences as well as American Presidents and the British Royal Family. Later, he was the barber at the Charleston Coast Guard base, until he retired at age 87.

He is survived by two daughters, Antoinette (Kleo) Sarant (Nicholas) of West Ashley and Victoria Ellen Agresta-Little (Terrance) of Johns Island; a grandson, Christopher Sarant (Amy); and two great-grandchildren, Hannah and Ivy Sarant of Columbia, SC. He was preceded in death by his wife, Elizabeth Eugenia Eastwood and daughter, Rosemary Elizabeth Agresta.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Regimental Band, C/O The Citadel, 171 Moultrie Street, Charleston, SC 29409.