Emilio Grimaldi

GRIMALDI Emilio Grimaldi, 86, of Redding, CT, soul mate of wife Emily Fusci Grimaldi, passed away peacefully in his home on Sunday, January 15, 2012. Emilio was born May 16, 1925 in the village of Mascali, Sicily at the foot of Mount Etna. In November of 1928 Etna unleashed its wrath on Mascali, firing plumes of ash miles high that reached the African continent. The grumpy mountain gave the people of Mascali just enough notice to get out of town. Etna swallowed everything that day. Emilio's family lost their house, farmland, crops and livestock. The entire village of Mascali was destroyed. His parents Leonardo and Regina (Rovagnati) Grimaldi started over. The Grimaldis of Mascali farmed citrus trees - oranges, tangerines and lemons - olive groves, cherry trees, artichokes, eggplant, squash, white figs, peppers, onions, scallions, garlic, broccoli rabe and string beans. They raised chickens, steers and guinea pigs. They squeezed grapes into wine and olives into oil. Wood fired the stove and flames from grapevines grilled the fresh anchovies and swordfish delivered daily by bicycle from Mediterranean markets. Surviving off the land and sea was rugged. The bathroom was the great outdoors and a handful of grass. What the people consumed fertilized the citrus trees, the tree trunks used for back support. Benito Mussolini pledged Italy's support to Hitler during World War II, then one day an exiled George Patton showed up in Sicily with allied forces and Emilio's eyes bulged at the site of amphibian crafts entering the island from the Mediterranean Sea. He could not believe his eyes, boats that moved on land. He had never seen modern conveniences such as a car, truck, telephone or a refrigerator. By the time the allies invaded Sicily in 1942 Emilio was under the required age for military duty in the Italian army, and the man of the house. His father and oldest brother Giovanni were military men assigned to northern Italian and Greek isle posts. Emilio's first true love was soccer and he toiled in various soccer leagues until a bout with typhoid fever rendered him bed ridden and near death. After the war Emilio, poor and hungry, was restless for a new life. In 1952, Sabina Fusci took Emily, her 22-year-old daughter, by the hand and escorted her across the Atlantic to Sicily to find a husband. Emily was born in Harrison, New York, to a Sicilian father and Neapolitan mother who had friends in Sicily. Within 10 days of meeting, Emilio and Emily were engaged, within two weeks they were married. Emily returned to her home in Bridgeport, CT, leaving Emilio behind until he was cleared by immigration eight months later. In 1953, Emilio scratched together enough cash to hop aboard the liner Andrea Doria and entered New York Harbor. Although they did not know each other when married, the union of Emilio and Emily Grimaldi lasted 59 years. Settling in Bridgeport, Emilio landed work processing milk in the icebox of Mitchell Dairy in Bridgeport and then Borden's Milk Company in Stratford. Although he had no formal education Emilio was good with numbers and worked his way into the shipping department of the company. Like so many immigrants seeking property in suburbs, land in Monroe led to construction of a home where Emilio and Emily raised their two children. If soccer was his first love, wine making, the New York Yankees and a traditional Sunday dinner with his family were equal partners. For decades he processed homemade wine in the cellar from equipment manufactured circa 1900. In addition to his wife, Emilio is survived by daughter Julia Grimaldi Matto and her fiance Brian Weisner of Stratford; Lennie Grimaldi and his wife Maureen Grimaldi of Redding; granddaughter Melissa Matto of Stratford; many family members in Italy; several nieces and nephews, and many friends in Connecticut. Services will be private. The Abriola Parkview Funeral Home, 419 White Plains Road, Trumbull is in charge of arrangements. To light a virtual candle, visit us at www.abriola.com.