Vincent Pellegrino

East Lyme - Vincent Pellegrino, 67, of East Lyme, passed away at home surrounded by his loving family on Sunday, May 23, 2010, after a brief illness. He is survived by his high school sweetheart and loving wife of 45 years, Phyllis (Silvestro) Pellegrino.

He leaves his beloved children, Christine and Richard Stout, William Pellegrino, Mary and Carl Roth and Peter and Marissa Pellegrino. He will be sadly missed by his beloved grandchildren, Julia and Victoria Stout, Alexander and Ava Roth and Sophia Pellegrino. Vinny is also survived by his sisters, Annette Mancuso and Rose Goetz, his sister-in-law Theresa Iazzetti and several nieces and nephews.

Vinny was born in New York on Aug. 4, 1942, to the late Vincent and Theresa Pellegrino. He graduated from SUNY Maritime College with a bachelor of engineering degree (Marine). Vinny worked for Electric Boat and for the past 25 years as a Contract Consultant for I.B.M., retiring April, 2007.

Vinny was a man of rock solid values and deep faith in God. He was devoted to his wife, children and grandchildren.

An avid fisherman, Vinny enjoyed fishing the local waters with his children, grandchildren, friends and on his son-in-law's boat and looked forward to his annual fishing trips with his buddies Ken and Carl. It especially made him happy that his son, Peter, was able to join him on several of these outings including a 10-day trip to New Mexico last September. Vinny was a pigeon fancier who raced homing pigeons and in later years, developed an interest in show pigeons with his friend Andy.

Vinny would spend countless hours reading books by his favorite authors, watching N.Y. Yankees, Giants Football and Duke Blue Devils. It gave him great pride and joy to watch his children and grandchildren in many activities they were involved in.

The family will receive relatives and friends from 4 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 26, at Thomas L. Neilan & Sons Funeral Home, 48 Grand Street, Niantic. The funeral procession will assemble at 10:15 a.m. on Thursday, May 27, at the funeral home and proceed to a Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. at St. Agnes Church, 22 Haigh Avenue, Niantic. Interment will follow at East Lyme Cemetery.

Kindly omit flowers. Donations may be made in Vinny's name to Yale Neurology Department, 40 Temple Street, New Haven, Conn. in care of Dr. Duarte Machado.

The family wishes to thank the VNA and Hospice for their care and for all those who made weekly meals, attended to the needs inside and outside our home and for the countless hours spent visiting with us. They are all angels from Heaven.

To view Vinny's online video tribute page or to send an online condolence, please visit www.neilanfuneralhome.com.