Joseph Salvatore "Joe" Rizzo

1927 - 2022

Middletown - Joseph Salvatore "Joe" Rizzo, 95, passed away peacefully July 9, 2022, surrounded by family prayers and love.

Joe was a devoted husband, son, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather who deeply loved and cared for his family. As a talented mechanical engineer, he generously shared his skills, knowledge, and time with those who needed it. During his retirement, Joe brought his family together through his passion for the ocean, the beach, and saltwater fishing. He encouraged get-togethers for swimming, picnics on his brick patio, or a day on his boat in the Long Island Sound. For his daughters, sons-in-law, and his grandchildren visiting from out of state, he opened his home for extended stays where all enjoyed his homemade wine, outstanding seafood, and pasta dishes.

Born in Middletown in 1927, Joe is the son of the late Sebastiana and Salvatore Rizzo and the brother of the late Mary Russo from Middletown. Left to cherish his memory, are his adored wife Loraine Sanborn Rizzo; his four daughters and their husbands, Lesley and Herb West, Judith and Matt McLaughlin, Carole and Lev Renca, and Nancy and Michael Fredericks; as well as thirteen grandchildren, and twelve great-grandchildren.

Family and friends will dearly miss his kind smile and gentle manner that endeared him to many.

Friends may call from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, July 14, at D'Angelo's Funeral Home, 22 South Main Street in Middletown. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at noon Friday, July 15, at Saint Sebastian Church, 155 Washington Street in Middletown. At the request of the family, the burial will be private.