Coming to terms: A Sharon woman remembers the life -- and tragic death -- of her father

Sep. 10—SHARON — Chic Gadola is immortalized, among other places, in an issue of the Tokyo-Yokohama edition of an English-language newspaper. A photo provided by the U.S. Army shows Gadola sitting with two sisters, aged 7 and 9, one on each knee.

"Two little Japanese girls, rescued by an American soldier after they were trapped in a blazing house, can't speak enough English to thank Cpl. Francis Gadola in words," the story's opening paragraph reads. "But the tight hug they're giving him expresses their gratitude."

Gadola, a member of the 517th Military Police Service Company, "raced into the inferno to carry [Tamiko and Noriko Shimura] to safety," the article further states, earning him a letter of commendation from the Yokohama Public Safety Commission and eventually, according to Gadola's daughter, an offer of Japanese citizenship.

"He went into a burning building and rescued those two young girls," Gina Gadola says.

And that was hardly her father's only act of heroism. During his service in World War II and in Korea, Gadola earned a Purple Heart, a medal awarded by the military to those wounded or killed while serving their country.

And all this after he joined the armed forces under false pretenses.

"I don't know how he did it — forged the documents or something. But he joined the Army at 17, after he ran away from home," Gina says.

Gadola's legacy is further preserved in Gina's large collection of newspaper clippings about her father, including a small notice, about the size of a classified ad, announcing the 17-year-old as a runaway. His sisters kept the clippings, Gina says, eventually passing them on to their niece to preserve the family history.

"I have tons more at home that I haven't even gotten the chance to go through yet," she says.

Unfortunately none of this lessens the pain of her father's loss.

"He would've been 95 this year, had his life not have been stolen from us all," Gina says. "He had five kids at home. He survived two wars."

On Dec. 29, 1973 — 12 days before Gina's sixth birthday — her father was shot and killed at a restaurant in Hickory Township, nearly two years before the municipality's name would be changed to Hermitage.

A Renaissance man

Frank Gadola — "Chic" to his family and friends — was a man who wore many hats.

"He was a coach. He conducted a 16-piece orchestra. He had his own landscaping business. He co-owned four race horses. He even named one horse after my mom, my sister and me," says Gina.

Chic also led gambling junkets to Las Vegas, recruiting vacationers from local areas and connecting them with hotels in Sin City.

As reported by The Herald in 1973, Gadola was shot in the back of the head during the early morning hours of Dec. 29 at the Oak Room Restaurant, located at 2390 E. State Street in Hickory — roughly where the Panera Bread in Hermitage sits now. He was 46 years old.

Gadola was reportedly shot with a .38-caliber revolver in the "cloak room" of the restaurant as his wife Barbara looked on helplessly nearby. Police quickly took Roy O'Searo, also of Hickory, into custody. O'Searo would later claim, according to legal documents, that he drew his gun "in an effort to stop [a] struggle" which had ensued inside the restaurant, at which point "someone grabbed his hand, causing it to discharge accidentally."

O'Searo was convicted of first-degree murder. He would die while awaiting trial on other charges in 1984.

'You always feel that there's a void in your life'

"All my life I wondered what it would have been like to have a father," Gina says. "To not struggle financially, or watch my mom have to struggle to put food on the table."

Gina and her siblings also faced mean-spirited taunts from children at school.

"Kids can be cruel," Gina says. "There were kids who heard things from their parents about the murder, and sometimes they would say things. 'Oh, your dad was killed by the mafia.' That's devastating to hear when you're in grade school."

"It was hard, for all of us," Gina says. "But at the same time, it made us closer."

Gina initially didn't even know that her father had been murdered, only learning the truth from a relative much later.

"At first my mother told me he had a heart attack," Gina says. "I remember wondering why I was lied to — it was devastating. But I know she was just trying to protect me."

The memory of that revelation has encouraged Gina to always be honest with her own children.

"I think because of that, I have never lied to my kids," she says. "Kids can handle more than you think they can. I think it's better to know the truth than be lied to."

Gina doesn't know a lot about the circumstances surrounding Chic's death; only that Roy O'Searo was apparently involved in organizing her father's Las Vegas excursions. The two allegedly had a falling-out over a position representing a new hotel that they were both pursuing.

"They were both going for it, and my dad got it," Gina says simply. O'Searo reportedly didn't take the loss well.

"From what people have told me, Roy was sitting at the bar. and he was telling everybody that when Chic Gadola comes in, I'm gonna shoot him," she says. "Nobody called and said, Hey, you better not come out here. He was sitting there with his gun laying out on the bar."

"There" was the Oak Room, a setting with which Gina and her family were well acquainted.

"My dad used to take me there for lunch. It was where they all hung out," she says. "They were all friends. My dad and O'Searo were friends — my dad was the one who got him into doing the junkets."

However, Chic Gadola's visit to the Oak Room on the night of Dec. 28 would be his last.

"I found part of the court transcript, where my mom was on the stand," Gina says. "Hearing in her words what she went through. What she saw."

"She took her purse and was beating him — the shooter, Roy O'Searo," Gina says. "Saying how could you do this? He has five kids at home."

"He didn't just ruin my family's lives. He had kids too. He devastated two families," she says.

Gina hopes to eventually write a book about her father's death ... and about his life, which amounted to much more than the circumstances surrounding his murder.

"He was the best jitter-bugger around. All the ladies wanted to dance with him," Gina says. "He was very thoughtful and giving. He'd spend his last dime on you. He was very involved in his community; I always wonder, how'd he have time to do all this? I find it all fascinating — learning about his life, all that he went through."

Those with stories or information to share about Chic Gadola can reach out to Gina at ginagadola@outlook.com.