Obituary for Vincent Colandrea
Vincent "Vinnie" Colandrea
Born in Newark, New Jersey, January 20, 1940, Vinnie came into this world with a twinkle in his eye and a smile from ear to ear, and that smile never left his face for the 82 years he was on this planet. Vinnie grew up in Stephen Crane Village and often shared hilarious stories of running around with the neighborhood kids, getting into trouble with his brother Willie, helping his dad at the candy shop or gearing up for a Sunday dinner with the family. The stories would seem far-fetched and unbelievable, but they were all true. Like the time Joe Pesci gave him a haircut and cut his ear, or when he and his brother Willie broke into the cookie factory and left a trail of cookie crumbs all the way home, helping the police catch the mischievous cookie thieves. And we can’t forget that he was an altar boy at St. Francis Church.
Bloomfield Ave, the cherry trees at Branch Brook Park, Italian hot dogs, these were some of his most treasured memories. Vinnie loved to dance and sing but it was football that made him a star at Barringer High School, earning himself a football scholarship to Southern Mississippi University. From there he headed to California where football gave way to a brief fling with boxing, under the name Vinnie Rossiano, even hanging out with a young Cassius Clay, better known as Muhammad Ali. A head injury ended his time in the ring and that’s when the boxing gloves came off and the chef’s hat went on.
He won several awards for having the best pizza in Orange County California at Vinnie’s Brooklyn Pizza Works and ran several successful Italian restaurants, even opening one in Japan. But what people remember the most about Vinnie was not his many successes, but his generous heart and spirit. Vinnie never knew a stranger and always saw the good in everyone. His senior yearbook caption said it best, “A tough exterior hides a heart of gold” and it’s that heart of gold that will be missed most.
Vincent is survived by his daughter Patricia Herrea Knight and her husband Kevin, his grandchildren Christopher and Max, his sister Sandra Lacaire, his brother and his wife, Nicholas and Mary Balestrieri, his nieces Sara and Mary Balestrieri and nephew Nicholas Balestrieri, and his great-nieces Ava and Evelyn, and great-nephews Jaiden, Vincent and Victor.
Born in Newark, New Jersey, January 20, 1940, Vinnie came into this world with a twinkle in his eye and a smile from ear to ear, and that smile never left his face for the 82 years he was on this planet. Vinnie grew up in Stephen Crane Village and often shared hilarious stories of running around with the neighborhood kids, getting into trouble with his brother Willie, helping his dad at the candy shop or gearing up for a Sunday dinner with the family. The stories would seem far-fetched and unbelievable, but they were all true. Like the time Joe Pesci gave him a haircut and cut his ear, or when he and his brother Willie broke into the cookie factory and left a trail of cookie crumbs all the way home, helping the police catch the mischievous cookie thieves. And we can’t forget that he was an altar boy at St. Francis Church.
Bloomfield Ave, the cherry trees at Branch Brook Park, Italian hot dogs, these were some of his most treasured memories. Vinnie loved to dance and sing but it was football that made him a star at Barringer High School, earning himself a football scholarship to Southern Mississippi University. From there he headed to California where football gave way to a brief fling with boxing, under the name Vinnie Rossiano, even hanging out with a young Cassius Clay, better known as Muhammad Ali. A head injury ended his time in the ring and that’s when the boxing gloves came off and the chef’s hat went on.
He won several awards for having the best pizza in Orange County California at Vinnie’s Brooklyn Pizza Works and ran several successful Italian restaurants, even opening one in Japan. But what people remember the most about Vinnie was not his many successes, but his generous heart and spirit. Vinnie never knew a stranger and always saw the good in everyone. His senior yearbook caption said it best, “A tough exterior hides a heart of gold” and it’s that heart of gold that will be missed most.
Vincent is survived by his daughter Patricia Herrea Knight and her husband Kevin, his grandchildren Christopher and Max, his sister Sandra Lacaire, his brother and his wife, Nicholas and Mary Balestrieri, his nieces Sara and Mary Balestrieri and nephew Nicholas Balestrieri, and his great-nieces Ava and Evelyn, and great-nephews Jaiden, Vincent and Victor.