Kenneth J. Petraglia, who lived his whole life in Malden, died on Wednesday, November 4, 2026. He was 76.
He was born in Malden in 1950 to Domenic and Theresa Petraglia, went through the city’s schools and graduated from Malden High School with the Class of 1968. At Northeastern University he earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering in 1973 and a master’s in 1977. His career as a transportation engineer ran through several Boston-area firms and projects for MassDOT, the Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Boston Redevelopment Authority and others. He retired from the Beta Group in Norwood in 2019 and went on consulting for the City of Malden on various projects afterward.
In 2000 he married Nancy Rhoades and they made their home in Malden. He helped run the Al Locke Basketball League, coached football, and coached the city’s youth baseball programs in the Majors and Babe Ruth divisions. In his profession he was a member and past president of the Institute of Transportation Engineers.
He leaves his wife Nancy; his daughter Gina Petraglia of California; his stepson Geoffrey Weber of Malden; his sister Terry Glionna and her husband Ray of Malden; his grandson Geoffrey Jr.; and many nieces, nephews and cousins. His sister Kathleen Hebert died before him.
The funeral is Tuesday, November 10 at 9 a.m. from the Weir MacCuish Family Funeral Home, 144 Salem Street, Malden, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10 a.m. at St. Joseph’s Church and burial at Holy Cross Cemetery. In place of flowers, donations in his memory may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 320 Nevada Street, Suite 201, Newton, MA 02460.
Compiled from information published by Weir-MacCuish Golden Rule Funeral Home, 144 Salem Street, Malden. Photograph courtesy of the family via Weir-MacCuish. This is our own summary, not the family’s obituary; read the full obituary and leave a condolence at the funeral home’s page on Legacy.com. Corrections: we will fix any error promptly.
