Joseph, (Joey, Joe), passed away peacefully, Thursday, December 10, 2020, at Baystate Medical Center.
Joe was born on September 5, 1951, in Hartford, CT, to the late Joseph C. and Theresa (Delorge) Iacolino. He grew up in Enfield, CT.
He was a self-taught drummer who earned his position as number two in Enfield in the battle of the bands for his great “Wipeout” solo.
Along with his children and his nephews, Jason and Kevin Iacolino, and his niece, Stephanie Garrett there were many late nights playing video games. Joe was extremely serious about his games, Nintendo and Play Station in particular. He subscribed to “Nintendo Power” magazine and had his picture published in the magazine after he proudly beat the game “Guardian Legend.” He never missed an opportunity to show off the article.
Although Joe didn’t go very often, he loved going to the casinos. He made one trip to Vegas and several multi-day trips annually to Atlantic City mostly with his Mom, Dad, aunts, uncles and cousins. Of course, he lost his shirt, but he had fun.
Joe was an enthusiastic auto racing fan. He loved attending the races at Riverside Park and Stafford Motor Speedway going many times with his best friend, Ross Boucher. For many years his favorite division was the modifieds. He was a dedicated fan of Reggie Ruggiero, and when Reggiero retired, he discovered a new driver, Ryan Preece. He followed him in the modifieds until Preece changed to Nascar. He then abandoned the modifieds and became a fan of Nascar. He has a large collection of memorabilia from both drivers including t-shirts, hoodies, jackets, signed photos, magazines and model cars.
Joe started his working career as a cook at Dunn’s Motel in Enfield. He continued on as an electrician’s apprentice and eventually ended up in Quality Control in the aerospace industry. He worked his way from inspecting parts to Quality Control Manager in various companies. He took classes as a Manager and earned numerous certificates to further his knowledge of the business.
At times he had a child-like personality, especially at Christmas. He would shake his presents, and most of the time, much to the frustration to the person giving the gift, could guess what the gift was. He insisted that all his presents go on the left side of the tree because that was his side growing up.
Easter was another holiday where he was a grownup child. His wife, Cheryl made him an Easter basket and would hide it. Along with the kids, he loved looking for his goodies.
Joe was a proud Sicilian. He was very interested in his heritage. He would frequently correct someone when they said he was Italian and tell them he was Sicilian, not Italian. With that in mind, Joe’s favorite movie was the Godfather. He watched it so many times, he could recite the dialog along with the actors. His license plate read “The Godfather’s Toy.” His other favorite movie was Shenandoah which starred Jimmy Stewart, who was one of his favorite actors.
He felt family came first and was close with his Dad and Mom. After his Dad passed away, he went to his Mom’s house several times a week after work and every Saturday to check on her until he felt confident that she was ok. He did the same after his Mom’s heart surgery.
He loved his children, wife and siblings. Joe cared deeply about people close to him but especially his best friend, Ross Boucher. He loved him and considered him family. Sadly, Joe had to see Ross pass away almost two weeks before him. That broke his heart.
Joe leaves his wife of 36 years and their children, Marie and her partner Dave Laurenson. His son Michael and his wife Jess. From his first marriage he leaves his daughter Shelly Martin and his son Joe Martin. He also leaves his step-daughter Melissa Mattice and her husband Josh. In addition he leaves his brother, Richie Iacolino, his wife Debbie and their children, Jason and Kevin and his wife Jessica and his sister Gail Rinaldi, her husband Joe and their daughter Stephanie Garrett and her husband Ricky.
Services will be at Leete Stevens Enfield Chapels at 61 South Road in Enfield, CT. The viewing will be on Wednesday, December 16th. Hours are 4:00-7:00 pm. The funeral and burial will be private. Leete Stevens has policies in place to follow all current Covid-19 protocols.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the American Heart Association or to your charity of choice.