Beloved son of Egla and Orlando (Lindy) Moretti, Paul J. Moretti passed suddenly on March 7, 2026 at Mercy Hospital of Buffalo. Loving brother of Anne M. Moretti, David J. Moretti, and Linda (Joseph) Dersam. Cherished uncle of Arthur (Mafe) Moretti, Jenna (Gregory) Goszewski, and Brinley (Justin) Moretti. Dear great uncle of Everett, Dylan and Nathaniel. He is survived by extended family including several cousins.

Paul completed a Bachelor’s degree in geological and earth sciences/geosciences degree from the University at Buffalo followed by a 30-year career in New York City as an executive at Turner Construction and Testwell Laboratories. He possessed a portfolio of credentials to mine marble in the Italian Alps and was a licensed pilot. After retiring, he then completed a Master’s degree in Volcanology and Planetary Formation from the University at Buffalo where he continued his research. Paul received the Pegrum Professional Development Award from UB’s Geology department in 2016 and in 2017. In recent years, he worked at the Penn Dixie Fossil Park and Nature Preserve presenting astronomy and geology educational programs, coordinating “digs,” and launching rockets with Moog for children and adults alike. He was a member of the Geological Society of America.

Paul was born to be a scientist. As a child you could always find him playing in dirt piles, building model airplanes and engines, or observing the wonders of the universe through his telescope with siblings and cousins. At age 8, he and his cousin Ric from next door invented a superhero game casting each of us as an element from the official IUPAC Periodic Table of Elements, complete with element‑inspired superpower characters to save the neighborhood. At age 9, after letter exchanges with NASA, he built and successfully launched a rocket in our family backyard. Space exploration was his passion. As a teen, he received one of the most powerful telescopes in WNY for Christmas; assigning our mom to call in the “coordinates” to UB’s planetarium every Friday night. Paul’s favorite TV shows were Lost in Space, Star Trek, Big Bang Theory, and anything scientific.

His lifelong passion for music led him to master several instruments and perform in bands from an early age-beginning with school bands as a boy and continuing into adulthood with classic rock bands such as Brother James. Paul loved the Beatles. He was a conversant Trivial Pursuit competitor across WNY who also loved baking cookies with his nieces and nephews, cooking, making wine, riding bikes, playing golf or tennis, and celebrating holidays with family.

Paul’s friends tell us his world view changed after studying quantum physics. He now knows the answers to the cosmic mysteries he once pondered and has made his intergalactic journey to the heavens where his spirit travels freely. “Boldly go, traveler of the stars.” – Captain James T. Kirk, Star Trek. You are forever loved and missed.

Family and friends will be received on Friday, March 13, 2026 from 3 PM – 7 PM at the Lombardo Funeral Home, 3060 Abbott Road in Orchard Park 14127. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Our Lady of Victory Basilica on Saturday, March 14, 2026 at 10:30 AM. Please assemble at the church.

Memorials may be made to the University at Buffalo’s Department of Geology & Earth Sciences with priority given to field research, or to the Penn Dixie Fossil Park and Nature Preserve in Hamburg, New York.