- Date Of Death: December 3, 2015
- State: Maine
Genero “Jerry The Barber” Stivaletti
November 13, 1921 – December 3, 2015
PORTLAND – Jerry Stivaletti, 94, died peacefully at Mercy Hospital in Portland on December 3, 2015 from injuries sustained in a fall on the day before Thanksgiving.
Jerry was born in Portland, the oldest child of “the finest mason in the Northeast” Antonio Stivaletti and Anna Lattanzio Stivaletti, both who immigrated from Vasto, Italy to Ellis Island, NY – Antonio in 1916 and Anna soon after. Jerry grew up in Portland’s Little Italy, speaking mostly only Italian when he started school. The family also lived in Garfield NJ, moving to where his father found work, while eventually moving back to Portland. Jerry graduated from Portland High School in 1941.
His strong work ethic began at a young age as his first “job” was shining shoes in Lincoln Park when he was 12 years old. After high school, he began working at a print shop on Exchange Street. When World War II began in 1941, he joined the Coast Guard. He was at Normandy France on D-Day June 6, 1944 on the USS Samuel Chase APA 26, then went to the Philippines and Japan as the ship transferred to the Pacific in time for the Invasion of Okinawa. He was a cook and a barber on the ship.
After being discharged in 1946, Jerry returned to Portland and began barbering at the Fort Williams Military Base in Cape Elizabeth ME. That same year, he joined the Naval Reserves. In 1950, when the Korean War started, Jerry found himself back on a military ship for the Navy in the South Pacific, this time as a 1st Class Petty Officer on the USS Millette PA 156. Two years later, he was discharged from the Navy and returned to Portland where he opened up his own barber shop.
In 1958 Jerry met the love of his life at St.
