Obituary of Joseph Charles Caffarella

Joseph Charles Caffarella, 97, of 401 First Avenue, NYC, passed away on October 2, 2024. He is survived by his nephew, Robert Rizzo, of Merrick, NY, and nieces, Deborah Rizzo-Puccio (husband Anthony), of Highland, NY and, Pamela Izzo (husband Paul), of Howell, NJ and several cousins both in the States and in Italy. He was predeceased by his wife of 40 years, Carole Evans-Caffarella, in 2018. Joe was an avid fisherman, skier, cook, world-traveler and quite the dancer. He was born in 1927 in Astoria, Queens to Salvatore and Angelina (nee Magaraci) Caffarella, both immigrants from Sicily, Italy in the early 1920's. The Caffarellas settled in Astoria, NY and subsequently relocated to Copiague, NY and later to Lindenhurst where Salvatore set up a shoemaker shop. Joe excelled in school and skipped a grade as a result. He was an outstanding football player at Lindenhurst High School playing halfback and returning punts and kickoffs. In one game he scored two touchdowns, one on a 102-yard kickoff return. Graduating at 17 he enlisted in the Navy to join the war effort. He joined active service in April of 1945. After basic training at Navy Training Station Sampson NY and then Navy Training Station Newport RI, he was assigned to serve on the Heavy Cruiser, USS Helena CA-75. They set sail from Boston Harbor to join the fleet in the South Pacific supporting the war effort against Japan. Joe was swiftly promoted to Seaman First Class and was assigned to the position of Fire Controller, the person who pushed the button which launched shells from the 8-inch guns on the ship. After his discharge from the Navy, Joe took on some various jobs among them being a roofer and soon decided the better life journey was to enter college under the GI Bill (the Serviceman's Readjustment Act of 1944 signed by FDR). He was accepted to Utica College and after two years decided that a degree from Syracuse was more lucrative so he transferred there earning a Bachelor's degree in Marketing in 1951. He quickly obtained a job in the tool industry as a salesman for such companies as Igoe Brothers, Disston Tools, and finally Great Neck Tools in Mineola where he was Vice President of Sales overseeing dozens of sales reps across the country. After he retired from Great Neck in 2005 he spent most of his time traveling the world with his wife Carole and commuting to their ski house in Wilmington, VT. Their many travels around the world included a Camper trip through the US to several National Parks, the Great Wall of China, the Pyramids of Egypt, Notre Dame in France, the Vatican and the Sydney Opera House to name a few. Joe's daring was evidenced by his foray into Extreme Skiing in Canada where he was dropped on a mountain from a helicopter into virgin snow without established ski trails and had to negotiate his way down. But perhaps his most dangerous life moment occurred on January 1, 1959 when he was vacationing in Havana, Cuba and gun fire was heard in his hotel lobby by Castro's led revolution. He barely made it to the docks with only the clothes he was wearing and was able to get on a US ship in spite of the fact that he severely sprained his ankle on the cobblestones. Michael Corleone had nothing on Joe! In lieu of flowers the family requests you make a donation to one of Joe and Carole's favorite charities –The American Red Cross, St. Jude's Children's Hospital or Habitat for Humanity