Obituary of Michael Angelo Picardi, Jr.

Michael Angelo Picardi, Jr, married to his only love and “Honey”, Mary, for 72 years passed at the E.N. Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital in Bedford after a short illness on Friday night, February 9, 2024.  He was 96 years old.  Mike was born and raised in Somerville.  He was the son of Michael and Carilda Picardi.  He grew up in a home steep in Italian traditions and values with “family” being the most important.  After graduating from Somerville High School, he enlisted in the Army when he was 18 years old.  He served from 1946 to 1948 and was the recipient of the World War II Victory Medal and Occupation Ribbon.  He was proud to have served his country and proudly wore his Veteran baseball cap until his passing.

After Mike’s military service, he worked at Angiers Chemical Plant.  It was there in the cafeteria that he first set his eyes on Mary Crimaldi.  Mike turned to his coworker and said, “I am going to marry her someday” and the rest is history.  They shared 72 years of marital bliss affectionately referring to each other as “Honey” their entire lives.  Family was everything to Mike.  He and Mary created a warm and welcoming home for their children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and siblings and their families.  They hosted holidays, family celebrations, cook outs, and countless pool parties.  As a father, he was a strong role model to his children.  They saw his hard work, devotion to their mother, and how to treat others with respect and kindness.  He was always there as a source of strength in the adversity of losing a child, grandchild, and grandson-in-law.  His faith sustained him and his family.  Mike loved creating and documenting family memories.  When his son was young, he spent Friday nights with him going for pizza, baseball and basketball games, or countless arrays of adventures.  There were family vacations to Hampton Beach, Hawaii, Bermuda, and Bridgton, Maine.  Mike was always armed with a camera and video camera and recorded many of those events in precisely made photo albums and home movies.  His family was everything to him and Mike literally documented and cherished that for posterity.

Mike worked for GTE, Honeywell, and GTE Sylvania as an electronics technician.  He worked on underground military missile sites all over the country.  He had “Top Secret” clearance and never could discuss his work with family and friends.  At home, he loved tinkering in his basement.  He could fix anything from lights, radios and even televisions.  He loved working around his yard with his Italian music playing as he went about his chores.  He was an active member of the Burlington Knights of Columbus, the Burlington Sons of Italy, and the Woburn American Legion.  He was also very active in the St. Anthony’s Club in Woburn serving many positions in the club including Vice President.  He partook in their socials, activities, and fundraiser events in all the organizations he was involved in.  He bowled in several leagues with his brothers. He enjoyed his Thursday ritual of meeting the guys for coffee and often going to Bickford’s together for breakfast.  And for some unknown reason, he was an avid Yankees fan.  Mike lived a wonderful life.  He always placed his family first, always saw the positive in people and the world, and was simply a wonderfully kind man.  He will be missed, but his memory and spirit will live on in the hearts of all who knew and loved him.

Mike was the beloved husband of 72 years of Mary A. (Crimaldi) Picardi. He was the loving father of Michael Picardi, III & his wife Virginia of Billerica and the late Deborah Ann Picardi.  He was the proud grandfather of Maria Bieri & her late husband Michael of Woburn, Lisa Sullivan & her husband Richard of Billerica, and the late Michael Picardi, IV and great grandfather of Kaitlyn Bieri, Daniel Sullivan, and Nathan Sullivan.  He was the brother of the late Joseph Picardi and his wife Jenny, John Picardi and his wife Eva, and Anna Estee and her husband Gerald.  He was the brother-in-law of Julia Hanley and the late John, Irene Carpenter and the late Donald, Salvatore Crimaldi, Carol & Ronald Meller, the late Josephine & Herbert Preble, and the late Nicholas Crimaldi.  He was also survived by many nieces and nephews.

A visitation for Mike will be held on Thursday, February 15, from 4 to 7 PM at the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn Street, Burlington, MA 01803. Funeral from the Sullivan Funeral Home on Friday, Feb. 16 at 10 a.m. Followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Anthony Church in North Woburn, at 11am.  Services will conclude with a burial at Woodbrook Cemetery, Woburn. 

Memorials in Michael’s name may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, www.stjude.org, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN, 38105. 

For online guestbook and video tribute see www.sullivanfuneralhome.net