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October 18, 2013
Services
Friends may visit with the family from 5-9 PM on Monday, October 21, 2013 at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, NJ.
Matteo Lagomarsino age 90 of Wayne died peacefully in the comfort of his home on Friday, October 18, 2013.
He was born in Uscio, Italy and raised in Sori, Italy. As a young boy in Italy, he assembled gas meters and worked in the Genoa Navy Yard. During World War II he joined the Italian Partisans as a pro-Allied rebel fighter. He was captured and escaped from the Germans on two different occasions. While fighting with the resistance he would recount how they lived in caves, and that his mother would hang a red handkerchief on the clothesline if it was not safe for him to come home.
When he was twenty-five years old he emigrated to the United States having settled in New Rochelle, NY. He also lived in the Bronx, and Union City, NJ. While in Union City he started a machine shop with his partner Vinnie Salzone. Vinnie invited Matteo over for dinner and set him up on a blind date with a cute girl named Irene Scala. He and Irene hit it off and had a first date to the movies. Irene couldn’t remember the name of the movie, perhaps she was pre-occupied. Matteo proposed while they were on a date to Coney Island and Irene said “yes”. They married on October 6, 1957 at St. Theresa of Lisieux Church in Brooklyn, NY and honeymooned on both the New York and Canadian side of Niagara Falls. They have enjoyed fifty six years of a loving and devoted marriage.
As time went on, Matteo opened a new Machine Shop in Woodbridge with a partner named Saul. Eventually the shop moved to Little Ferry and after several years Matteo and Saul found property in Ringwood, NJ. They bought the property, built the building, and established the Kori Corporation in Ringwood. He was very proud of the fact that he made parts for the Bulova Watch Company that their own engineers and machinists could not figure out how to make. He also made items that have been to the moon! Matteo formally retired in 1985.
After he retired, he was standing over Irene with his arms crossed in front of his chest as she made the bed. She eyed him and said, “get a hobby!” Soon Matteo had a full machine shop running in the basement from which he created a multitude of true artisan grade hand crafted items such as: baskets, beautiful shelves, grapes on a vine, candle stick holders, Intarsia wood art to hang on the wall, and an exact miniature duplicate of their home complete with working garage doors. His attention to detail, as he had worked with 1000’ths of an inch in his machine shop days, is clearly evident in his works of art. By using varying textures and colors of different woods, small slivers of stone from the yard, and his keen eye for the slightest detail, he was able to create simply beautiful things. Matteo had a quiet, conservative personality, but when asked about his days in Italy he was happy to share his memories for as long as you were willing to listen.
Matteo was the loving husband of fifty-six years to Irene Lagomarsino; cherished father of Joseph Lagomarsino and his wife Ann; cherished grandfather of Matthew and Nicole Lagomarsino; much loved master of his devoted Doberman Pinscher Aaron.
In lieu of flowers memorial donations to the Wayne Memorial First Aid Squad, PO Box 2004, Wayne, NJ 07474 would be appreciated.
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Friends may visit with the family from 5-9 PM on Monday, October 21, 2013 at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, NJ.
October 18, 2013
Services
Friends may visit with the family from 5-9 PM on Monday, October 21, 2013 at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, NJ.
Matteo Lagomarsino age 90 of Wayne died peacefully in the comfort of his home on Friday, October 18, 2013.
He was born in Uscio, Italy and raised in Sori, Italy. As a young boy in Italy, he assembled gas meters and worked in the Genoa Navy Yard. During World War II he joined the Italian Partisans as a pro-Allied rebel fighter. He was captured and escaped from the Germans on two different occasions. While fighting with the resistance he would recount how they lived in caves, and that his mother would hang a red handkerchief on the clothesline if it was not safe for him to come home.
When he was twenty-five years old he emigrated to the United States having settled in New Rochelle, NY. He also lived in the Bronx, and Union City, NJ. While in Union City he started a machine shop with his partner Vinnie Salzone. Vinnie invited Matteo over for dinner and set him up on a blind date with a cute girl named Irene Scala. He and Irene hit it off and had a first date to the movies. Irene couldn’t remember the name of the movie, perhaps she was pre-occupied. Matteo proposed while they were on a date to Coney Island and Irene said “yes”. They married on October 6, 1957 at St. Theresa of Lisieux Church in Brooklyn, NY and honeymooned on both the New York and Canadian side of Niagara Falls. They have enjoyed fifty six years of a loving and devoted marriage.
As time went on, Matteo opened a new Machine Shop in Woodbridge with a partner named Saul. Eventually the shop moved to Little Ferry and after several years Matteo and Saul found property in Ringwood, NJ. They bought the property, built the building, and established the Kori Corporation in Ringwood. He was very proud of the fact that he made parts for the Bulova Watch Company that their own engineers and machinists could not figure out how to make. He also made items that have been to the moon! Matteo formally retired in 1985.
After he retired, he was standing over Irene with his arms crossed in front of his chest as she made the bed. She eyed him and said, “get a hobby!” Soon Matteo had a full machine shop running in the basement from which he created a multitude of true artisan grade hand crafted items such as: baskets, beautiful shelves, grapes on a vine, candle stick holders, Intarsia wood art to hang on the wall, and an exact miniature duplicate of their home complete with working garage doors. His attention to detail, as he had worked with 1000’ths of an inch in his machine shop days, is clearly evident in his works of art. By using varying textures and colors of different woods, small slivers of stone from the yard, and his keen eye for the slightest detail, he was able to create simply beautiful things. Matteo had a quiet, conservative personality, but when asked about his days in Italy he was happy to share his memories for as long as you were willing to listen.
Matteo was the loving husband of fifty-six years to Irene Lagomarsino; cherished father of Joseph Lagomarsino and his wife Ann; cherished grandfather of Matthew and Nicole Lagomarsino; much loved master of his devoted Doberman Pinscher Aaron.
In lieu of flowers memorial donations to the Wayne Memorial First Aid Squad, PO Box 2004, Wayne, NJ 07474 would be appreciated.
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