JOSEPH SALONIA

JOSEPH SALONIA, age 91, passed away peacefully on Sunday, September 7, 2025. Beloved husband of the late Josephine (nee Guzzo) for 64 years; loving father of Grace Salonia, Anthony Salonia (Jennifer) and Rosanna Salonia; dearest grandfather of Victoria Ciciora (Mike), Monica, Joseph and Luca; son of the late Antonio and Maria Grazia Salonia; brother of Giovanna Marletta and the late Concetta and Vincenza Salonia; beloved brother-in-law, uncle and great-uncle of many. Service at the funeral home Friday, September 12, 2025 at 10:30 a.m. Interment Holy Cross Cemetery. Family and friends received at THE RIPEPI FUNERAL HOME, 5762 PEARL RD. (AT SNOW RD.), THURSDAY 4-7 P.M.

Giuseppe, known to everyone as Joe, was born on August 24, 1934 in Mirabella Imbaccari – a small town nestled in the hills of Sicily. It was there that Joe cultivated a love for agriculture as he worked alongside his father on the land his family owned on the outskirts of the town. Together with his father, they harvested wheat, tomatoes, figs, zucchini, and an abundance of other gifts from the earth. He was a young boy at the start of WWII and often regaled his family with stories of how the allied forces made their way through his small town. At 18, he headed to northern Italy where he completed two years of mandatory military service. In the late 1950s, he began correspondence with Giuseppina (Josephine) who had traveled to the U.S. in 1952 from Mirabella. In 1960, they married in Mirabella and traveled to the U.S. where they built their lives for the next 64 years in the Cleveland suburbs. They happily and joyfully raised 3 children and enjoyed spoiling their 4 grandchildren. They lived quiet, simple lives and gave thanks to the Lord for all He provided them. The love for gardening never left Joe’s soul, however. Everywhere he lived, he built gardens and planted trees and enjoyed the fruits of his labor. Even during the last years of his life, the love of planting, growing, and harvesting never left him. We, his family, believe that the place the Lord set aside for him in Paradise contains a field as far as the eye can see where he can harvest an abundance of goodness for the loved ones who are with him there. Joe lived with great faith for the Lord and served Him in quiet humility. He was a man of few words, but when he spoke, he spoke of the Bible, his faith, and the goodness of Jesus Christ. Riposa in pace, caro Papà.