Keith Reeves Rodney
Insurance executive, public servant and avid sailor.
Keith Reeves Rodney of Boston, insurance executive, public servant, and avid sailor, died March 6 at his home in the North End of esophageal cancer. He was 67 years old.
An insurance and financial industry expert, in 1975 he was appointed Deputy Insurance Commissioner for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts serving under Governor Michael Dukakis, and served as Deputy Director for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in Washington, D.C. in the Carter administration. He helped found the Plymouth Rock Assurance Company in Boston in 1982. He sailed a series of racing sloops, all named Sheerness, up and down the East Coast from Boston Harbor and the Vineyard Sound, to Buzzards Bay, Long Island Sound, Key West and the Caribbean.
The son of the late Emile and Ann Rodney, he is survived by a son, Keith Damon Rodney and his wife, Rachel Cohen, of Wilmington, Vermont, and a daughter, Erica Rothenberg and her husband, Stephen, of Marlborough, two grandchildren, Samuel and Bradford Rothenberg; a brother, Bradford Rodney and his wife, Gail, of New York City, two sisters, Margaret Mullen and her husband, James, of Cromwell, Connecticut, and Ann Rodney of Cambridge; his nieces and nephews; Sydney Mullen, Whitney Mullen Westhelle, and William Rodney. He was formerly married to Elsie Schneider Rodney of Wayland, and to Laurel Seneca of Newburyport. His romances and many friendships live beyond his death. He will be dearly missed.
A memorial service is planned for 4 p.m. April 2 at his home. In lieu of flowers, donations could be made to VNA Hospice Care of MA (www.hospicecarema.org).
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Joseph Francis Sinopoli
Retired Dental Technician
Joseph Francis Sinopoli died at his Cape Cod home on March 19. He was 72 years old.
A retired dental technician, he was born and raised in Boston’s North End, spent much of his life in Revere and had his own laboratory on Tremont Street, where he worked as a dental technician.
He is survived by his wife, Rosemarie (Gioioso) Sinopoli of Billerica and his beloved children: Gina (Sinopoli) Duprey and her husband, Dwayne, of Becket, Joseph V. Sinopoli and his wife, Lisa, of North Billerica, and Scot Sinopoli and his wife, Rosangela, of Merrimack, NH. He was the dear brother of Louise Price of South Yarmouth, Catherine McIntyre and her late husband, Robert, of Gloucester, Thomas Sinopoli of California and Peter Sinopoli; the cherished grandfather of Zachary, Gabriella, and Stacia Hentosh of Salem, and Mia and Dean Sinopoli of North Billerica. He is also survived by many loving cousins, nieces and nephews.
Funeral arrangements were by the Boston Harborside Home of Waterman-Langone, Boston. Burial was at Holy Cross in Malden. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Cancer Society , 9 Riverside Road, Weston MA 02493. www.bostonharborsidehome.com
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Craig Hughes
Founder of the Eddie Pal North End Scholarship Charitable Trust
Craig F. Hughes of Boston’s North End died on March 10 after a brief illness. He was 78 years old.
Mr. Hughes, the former President of Relocation Corporation of New England, retired in 1991. He was born in New York City, attended NYU and served in the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War. A former resident of Sussex, NJ, and Hingham, Mr. Hughes spent the last 40 years of his life in the North End, where he founded the Eddie Pal North End Scholarship Charitable Trust. He enjoyed old Volvos, wine, Florida and the Caribbean in winter.
He is survived by his wife and best friend, Jane Kadlubkiewicz; his daughter, Suzanne Miller, of Cape Hatteras; his sons, Damen Hughes, also of Hatteras, and Dawson Barrett of Washington State; his granddaughter, Doris, and great-grandson, Dawson.
A private cremation was held at Mt. Auburn Cemetery, Cambridge. A Memorial Celebration of his life is planned for late spring. For those who wish, memorial gifts may be made to the New England Shelter for Homeless Veterans, 17 Court St., Boston, MA, 02108. Anderson-Bryant Funeral Home 781-438-0135
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Louis ‘LuLu’ Marino
Lifetime member of Madonna Del Soccorso Society
Louis “LuLu†Marino of Boston’s North End died on March 17.
A lifetime member of Madonna Del Soccorso Society, North End, he was the devoted son of the late Brigida and Charles Marino; beloved brother of Anna Guarino of Medford and the late Edward Marino; loving uncle of Anna Salamanca, Joe Guarino and the late Charles Guarino and is also survived by his dear great-nieces and nephews.
Burial was at St. Michael Cemetery, Roslindale. For obituary and guestbook: dellorusso.net
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Hon. Michael Nazzaro, Jr.
Helped Save the North End from Destruction
Hon. Michael A. Nazzaro, Jr. a well-respected and prominent member of the North End of Boston, died on March 26. Â He was 85 years old.
Born on June 2, 1925 on North Street in Boston’s North End, he was the son of the late Michael and Margaret (Camelio) Nazzaro. He later lived with his family on Endicott Street.
He served in the US Army during World War II and was honorably discharged in 1946 as a Sergeant Major. He then attended college at Mount St. Mary’s College (now University) in Emmitsburg, Maryland under the GI Bill, and earned his degree in Economics in 1950. After College, Mr. Nazzaro took a job in the US Bureau of Labor Statistics in Washington DC as a Business Economist, and also for the Office of Price Stabilization in order to assist in the Korean War effort.
Michael Nazzaro had a promising and successful career in Washington; however, he gave it all up to rescue his neighborhood from the New Boston Committee and the Boston Redevelopment Authority and their plans to demolish the North End – as they had the West End of Boston. He resigned his job in Washington DC, returned home to run for State Representative, and campaigned in order to save his neighborhood, the North End, from Eminent Domain.
He lost his first and second bids for a House seat, but persevered in order to passionately achieve his goal. He served in the House of Representative from 1958 through 1964, opened the Nazzaro Insurance Agency. He fought diligently, and without the power of Eminent Domain, the New Boston Committee and the BRA could not touch the North End. Mike Nazzaro had accomplished what he’d set out to do, and saved his beloved North End.
Nazzaro accumulated a productive Legislative record and served in the Legislature until his retirement. Among his many accomplishments, he succeeded in ending the insurance companies’ redlining of the North End, and forced these companies to sell policies at reasonable rates to North End homeowners and businesses. He got funding for the North End’s first ice skating rink (on Stillman Street), and had legislation passed to transform Massachusetts Community colleges into colleges that were finally accredited. He was so proud of his Italian Heritage that he signed a Bill establishing Columbus Day as a bank holiday.
He lived on Hanover Street with his beautiful wife, Jean, raised three wonderful daughters, Laureen, Adele and Carla, and was so proud of his five beloved grandchildren. Along with being a loving family man, he was generous and selfless when it came to the people, and always without compensation. Much of what we take for granted today in the North End, exists because Michael A. Nazzaro, Jr. gave up everything he had to rescue the North End from destruction.
He was the beloved husband of the late Jean Marie (Uva) Nazzaro; loving father of Laureen Anglin and her husband, Michael, of Medford, Adele Leonardi-LaFleur and her late husband, Frederick, of Newton, and Carla DiOrio and her husband, Berton, of Revere; dear brother of the late Lena Nazzaro and the late Louise Hlasny; loving grandfather of Laurie and Michelle Anglin, Frederick LaFleur, and Michael and Arianna DiOrio; brother-in law of George “Joe†Hlasny and uncle of Pamela Conrado and Dr. Robert Hlasny.
Funeral services will be held on Wednesday, March 30 Â at 8:45 a.m. at Boston Harborside Home, 580 Commercial St. Boston, followed by a 10 a.m. Funeral Mass at Saint Stephen Church, corner of Hanover and Clark Street, Boston. Burial will be in Oak Grove Cemetery, Medford. Friends and relatives are respectfully invited to attend all services. In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be made to the Nazzaro Center, 30 North Bennett St., Boston, MA 02113. www.bostonharborsidehome.com