- Date Of Birth: March 28, 1925
- Date Of Death: December 30, 2012
- State: Connecticut
Joseph Anthony Mingrone, passed away peacefully Dec 30, 2012 at Connecticut Hospice with his family at his side. He was 87.
He leaves his wife of 65 years, Virginia; five children, Alice Sullivan of Wallingford, Joseph and his partner Deborah de la Cruz of New London, Paul and his wife Lisa of Milford, Lawrence and his partner Janet Mitchell of Trumbull, Cheryl of Waterbury; seven grandchildren, Stacey Sullivan of Milford, Lawrence Mingrone of New Haven, Molly Mingrone of New Haven, Emily Mingrone of New Haven, Abigail Mingrone of Hamden, Margaret Macaluso of Branford, and Katherine Murphy of Waterbury; two great grandchildren, Lillian and Michael of Waterbury. He is survived by brother Rocco of North Carolina and sister Rose Campanelli of Derby and is pre-deceased by brothers Edward and James Iagoune.
He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1925, the son of Joseph Mingrone and Anna (Denegris) Mingrone. He enlisted in the Navy in March, 1943 and was stationed in Milne Bay, New Guinea during World War II. Following his discharge he met and married Virginia Kostzewski and settled in Milford, where he lived his entire life.
He worked as an upholsterer, had his own business for a time, and then took a position at Sikorski Aircraft in 1961 where he worked for 32 years. There, as part of a small team he helped maintain the country’s fleet of presidential helicopters, a job he was uniquely qualified for and took great pride in.
He was talented artistically and throughout his life engaged in a variety of creative activities including drawing, painting, cartooning, photography, model-making, wood carving, costume making, etc. In retirement he focused on woodcarving, creating hundreds of unique and beautiful folk-art miniatures, walking sticks, decoys and ornamental masks. He was an amateur inventor as well, and enjoyed turning his novel ideas into clever gadgets that were both useful and humorous. His great sense of humor and endless supply of jokes, gags and one-liners never ceased to amuse and entertain. He will be dearly missed.
