Louis A. Dandino, 1926-2012: Manager of Toledo Trust ‘1 in a million’

11/29/2012

Louis A. Dandino, a lifelong South Toledo resident who capped a 42-year career at the Toledo Trust Co. as manager of his neighborhood branch, died Tuesday in his home. He was 86.

He had kidney problems, an apparent allergic reaction to antibiotics, his son, Mike, said.

He retired in early 1988 as manager of the Toledo Trust branch on Broadway and South Avenue. He was elected an assistant treasurer of Toledo Trust and south side branch manager in 1977. He was assistant manager the previous three years.

Blade columnist Seymour Rothman noted in his “I've Heard” column that Mr. Dandino “may justifiably boast of being the last person to retire from Toledo Trust. The next day, the name was changed to Trustcorp Bank of Ohio.”

“He was kind of a one in a million,” said Linda McNeal, the branch’s assistant manager when he retired. “He was tough to work for, but you just loved working for him. He was fair and worked harder than anybody. He set the pace and expected you to follow the pace. You didn’t dare call in sick.”

He made time for conversation when he welcomed customers to his desk.

“That’s what they liked,” Mrs. McNeal said.

Not long before he retired, he helped subdue a would-be robber of the branch. The man jumped the counter and took some cash, Mrs. McNeal recalled.

But Mr. Dandino — “a big, strong, strapping man,” she said — tackled the robber without hestitation. Two customers helped out and, until police arrived, “Louie sat on the guy,” Mrs. McNeal said. “You didn't steal from Louie.”

Mr. Dandino was hired to Toledo Trust’s branch system in 1946 and was promoted to installment loans in 1956.

He was back in the branch system in 1966 and was named an assistant manager of the Oregon office. He was a graduate of the Ohio School of Banking.

For several years in retirement, he worked part time at the Toledo Zoo. He and his wife, Gerry, explored the world — Hawaii, Australia, Greenland. They traveled cross country aboard Amtrak and up the Mississippi on a steam boat.

He was a former president of the South Toledo Exchange Club. In 1981, he was elected to the Toledo Clean Hall of Fame for his work as a founder of Beautification Effort of South Toledo, or BEST. He was president of the Teen Town program at Westfield School.

He was born Nov. 17, 1926, to Grazia and Louis Dandino. He was a graduate of Libbey High School, but his mother had to pick up his diploma. He’d enlisted in the Navy. He served in the Pacific Theater in World War II and was recalled to active duty during the Korean War.

Surviving are his wife, Geraldine, whom he married May 27, 1950; sons, Mike, David, and Gary Dandino; eight grandchildren, and two great-granddaughters.

Visitation will be 2-8 p.m. today at the Walter Funeral Home. Services will be at 10 a.m. Friday at Church of St. Andrew United Methodist, where he was a member.

The family suggests tributes to Hospice of Northwest Ohio or to the church.

Contact Mark Zaborney at: mzaborney@theblade.com or 419-724-6182