Obituary of Anthony Salamone

Anthony J. Salamone, recipient of the Purple Heart, passed away after a short illness on Tuesday night, April 21, 2015. He was 92 years old. Tony was born in Boston, the son of Italian immigrants, the late Vincenzo and Annie Salamone. He grew up in the West End of Boston. He enlisted in the Army in March of 1943. He held the rank of PFC and was a member of the CO C 397th MP Battalion. He saw extensive action in Normandy and Northern France. In September of 1944 he received the Purple Heart Medal for shrapnel wounds to his head and back. He also received the European African Middle Eastern Theater Campaign Ribbon, Good Conduct Medal, and World War II Victory Medal. He was honorably discharged in January of 1946. Tony was a hardworking man. He started his career at Boston Ice Co. driving a horse drawn carriage and delivering the heavy blocks of ice to his customers homes. He worked at Electric Bridge as a crane operator. He also worked at Gorin Meat Packing Company. He ended his career rebuilding transmissions at Johnson Auto repair and Hydromatic Sales. Tony took great pride in the fact he and his brothers built his home in Burlington in in the 1950s. He loved his home and yard. He had a garden where he grew tomatoes, pumpkins, corn, strawberries, and host of other vegetables. He also enjoyed sitting in his front yard welcoming friends and neighbors for an afternoon chat. He enjoyed spending time at the Burlington Council on Aging where he particularly enjoyed playing cards. He loved testing his luck and knowledge at the Rockingham Horse Track, Mohegun Sun, and Foxwood’s Casinos. Tony was a humble man who did not want be a burden to anyone and appreciated the time shared with his family and friends. Tony was the loving husband of the late Eleanor M. (Ostroski) Salamone. He was the loving father of Jean A. Fitzpatrick of Burlington, Anthony J. “Tony” Salamone, Jr. “Tony” & his wife Donna of Lunenburg and John J. Salamone of Wilmington. He was the brother of Angela Cole and the late Annie Viverious, Lucy Gigante, Florence Peterson, Dolly Woodall, Mildred Roberto, Rose Zappelli and Dominic, Vincent, Joseph & Gerald Salamone. Tony was the proud grandfather of Christine and Beth Harper, Lisa Clark, Jaclyn Salamone, Anthony Salamone, III and John Salamone and great grandfather of River Clark and Desmond, Ellen, Truman, Carly and Hayden Salamone. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held in St. Margaret’s Church, 111 Winn St., Burlington on Saturday, April 25 at 10 a.m. Burial with Military Honors will be held at Chestnut Hill Cemetery, Burlington. Relatives & friends respectfully invited to attend. Visiting hours omitted. In lieu of flowers memorials in Tony’s name may be made to the Salvation Army, 147 Berkeley St., Boston, MA 02116-5197 Anthony Salamone, III Eulogy For those who don’t know me, I am Tony Salamone, or more specifically, Anthony John Salamone III, Tony’s grandson. I’d like thank each and every one of you for attending today’s service in honor of my grandfather. I stand before you, as his grandson, but more so as a representative of his family and friends, of whom he touched so many … in so many different ways. A son to 2, a Brother of 12, a cousin of …I have no idea, a Husband to 1, a Father to 3, a grandfather to 6 and most recently a Great Grandfather of 6 and a friend to countless. As I prepared for this moment, I started by kicking around some words that I thought described my grandfather. I settled on a few, but believe me, it was quite the vetting process…and this is a church, so certain words were out right away. But first, a quote, because that’s what people do in these things, right? “Our death is not an end if we can live on In our children and the younger generation. For they are us, Our bodies are only wilted leaves On the tree of life.” A great quote from Jake – from the Disney Channel Show, Jake and the Neverland Pirates… As many you know, my grandfather loved to tell stories and joke around. Never skipping out on the chance to inert a bit of a fib into his tales. I like to think, the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. Case and point: The previous quote was from Albert Einstein, who at last check, I don’t believe has a show on the Disney Channel. I really hope at least a few of you thought it was from some random cartoon character. The important thing is, my grandfather would appreciate that. Which leads to the first few words I settled on…Humorous and Story Teller. We’re all going to miss those times just sitting around his kitchen table, listening to him going off on how Tom Brady is a cry baby, and how we shouldn’t drive our cars when it rains. In the heat of the moment, they come off as negative, or him just being stubborn. But not when I look at the man behind them, and those words I used to describe him. It really started making sense to me. Tom Brady gets sacked, hits the turf, and immediately starts “whining” to the official, looking for a penalty. My grandfather, the man who lugged bricks of ice on his back out of Boston harbor, and later in life, laid on that same back for countless hours each day rebuilding transmissions. He doesn’t stand for it. You didn’t make the play, Tom. You got what you deserved. Get back up, shut your mouth and get back into the huddle. You get what you have coming to you so do your job and do it better. Just a slice of his work ethic shining through… Hardworking His granddaughter Beth visits from Lowell, or his grandson John makes the trek from Nashua to see him, while ‘god forbid’ it was raining. He’d tell them “you shouldn’t be out driving for no reason. It’s raining it gets slippery, people and their wipers and their tires may not be good, sliding…oh no..no. Don’t visit me when it rains. Just stay in the house” Hands moving all around the entire time, shaking his head. He just couldn’t fathom someone would risk their lives and brave a sun shower to come see him. But really, he just looking out for their well-being, in this case, probably too much. Nonetheless - Caring He took pride of the things he created. Whether it was the family home he built with his brothers, or as his nephew Nat and Niece Laura liked to call it, the “farm in Burlington”. It was a special place to many, but none more than him. Especially that garden. It was huge and a thing of beauty. Strawberries, tomatoes, pumpkins. They’re building houses on lots in Burlington that are smaller than his garden was. It’s something I’ll never forget. He took pride in his beautiful family that spanned from him, at the top of the food chain at 92, down to his 10 month old twin great grandchildren. I use beautiful as that was the word he always used when talking about all of his great grandchildren. Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful. He took pride in being a father to the Winmere neighborhood, specifically “the corner.” So many of those citizens represented here today proves that point. You could come and go from the Salamone residence as you pleased. Stop and chat, use the bathroom, have a glass of milk and maybe a fresh tomato and mayo sandwich, go pick a pumpkin. His door was open to all, and he enjoyed the company. He was … Proud. Don’t worry, there is only one word left on my list. If he were standing here right now, he’d tell you all to go home. But drive safe, especially if it’s raining. But really, because he would never want to be the center of attention. A decorated WWII veteran who took grenade shrapnel to the skull, which come to think of it, that may explain a few things, nonetheless. After his passing, I visited the senior center, where he spent so much time in his later years, and shared some stories with some of the folks he played cards with. They talked about how they had to trick him in order to throw him a 90th birthday party. Our family tried to do the same thing, making up excuses of distant relatives in town to visit and such. He did not want the spotlight on him and avoided it at all costs. Just days before his passing, from his hospital bed he said “just get me in the ground as fast as possible, no parties no nothing.” He may have even said no Mass….sorry Grampa. My last word… Humble as Humble could be…unless of course he hit big at the track or Mohegan... then you’d never hear the end of it. Funny Story Teller Hard working Caring Proud and Humble These are the words I chose to summarize my grandfather. It was quite a process for me because it’s difficult to summarize a person in just words, especially a list of words based on the opinion of one of his grandchildren. His summary is written by the interactions, and the memories that everyone in this room shared with him. I’m just lucky enough and honored to share mine with you. I encourage you, to share your own words amongst his family and friends. Because now, he lives in all of us. I speak on the behalf of the entire Salamone family in saying, we appreciate everyone’s love and support during this difficult time. And we appreciate each and every one of you for coming out today to pay your respect to this wonderful man. Thank you, all. Rest in peace, Grampa.