Emiddio "Vinny" Ippolito

Emiddio Vincent (“Vinny”) Ippolito, devoted husband, loving father, generous grand-father and great-grandfather, passed away on April 26, 2025, at the age of 93. He was a man full of energy and endless ideas, and he enjoyed working on his many projects, spending time with family, and finding fun places to travel to, which culminated in a full life.

Vinny was born in February 1932 in Brooklyn, New York, to John and Frances Ippolito. He grew up in Brooklyn with his three brothers, Tony (“Anthony”), Joey (“Joseph”), Nick (“Nicholas”), and his sister Jenny (“Joan”). He boasted of a story that his dog, Brownie, would travel with him in the morning on the train to school, and then Brownie returned home on the train by himself.

He was a Corporal in the US Army, serving in the Korean War from November 1952 to October 1954. Upon returning, he lived on Essex Street in Brooklyn, New York, and attended a trade school in Brooklyn, where he studied electronics.

Vinny met his future wife, Joan Savoia, in December 1958, at a New Year’s Eve party. In January 1960, they married at Immaculate Conception Church in Astoria, New York. They moved to Smithtown, Long Island, in March 1960, to Morewood Estates. Their first son, Paul, was born in 1961, then James in 1962, and their third son, Mark arrived in 1966. Keeping the family connected was important to Vinny and Joan. He would travel to Queens, New York, to bring his in-laws to Smithtown for a visit. He would do all the driving, traveling with his family packed into their AMC Hornet station wagon, for a same day visit to see his parents in Quakertown, Pennsylvania.

He worked as an electronic engineer at many companies, including Digitronics, Searle Medical Equipment, NTD Labs, Precision Mechanism Corporation, and Medical Technology Products. He also started his own business to duplicate computer punch tape. In 1989, his name was included in a biomedical patent. His most favorite job – which he never considered a job – was as a teller at Roosevelt Raceway for over 20 years. He was surrounded by the excitement of horse racing, and other colleagues who liked to “play the ponies”.

Vinny also had many home improvement projects, all going at the same time. If this wasn’t enough, he spent time building a 20-foot wooden boat, affectionately named “Our Three Sons”.

When his three sons went off to college, Vinny and Joan supported them with tuition payments and spending money. They also made frequent trips to see how they were doing, and he fixed any items that needed repair.

In their later years, Vinny and Joan enjoyed traveling and the arts. They traveled many times to the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island in Michigan, where they would dress up in formal 1912 attire for the annual fan celebration of the film ‘Somewhere in Time’. They also saw many productions on Broadway, Westbury Music Fair theater, and other local theaters.
 

After Joan’s passing in 2000, Vinny continued to travel to see his family, brothers, nieces and nephews, and friends, in central New Jersey, upstate New York, Delaware, and Florida. He and Paul traveled to model train shows, and took the Long Island Sound ferries to the Shoreline dog track and Mohegan Sun Casino. Vinny enjoyed sailing with Paul at Lake Ronkonkoma. Still continuing to love the “ponies”, Vinny and Paul went to OTB, Monmouth Park Racetrack, and Freehold Raceway.

For many years, Vinny and Paul dined at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, courtesy of his brother Tony. He took tremendous pride when his three sons and their families attended the annual Ippolito Family Reunion in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Well into his late 70s and 80s, he still worked on various home improvement projects, and visited James and Mark to assist them with their own home projects. He financially supported his older grandchildren with their college education, and traveled out of state to attend their graduation ceremonies. For over a decade beginning in 2005, he and Paul would enjoy Sunday morning breakfast at the Candlelight Diner in Commack, and frequent walks on the boardwalk at Sunken Meadow State Park. During Hurricane Sandy, he and Paul were kindly asked to leave the park, and go back home.

Beginning in 2022, Paul became his full-time caregiver. Together, they went to the Smithtown Senior Center and the Huntington Senior Center, where they made many friends. At the Huntington Senior Center, they would often show up early, and Vinny would ask for a cup of coffee. Secretly, the volunteers would often succumb to his smile, and he would be served before the official coffee time.

He and Paul enjoyed the hospitality of a co-worker of Paul, enjoying many barbeques on Oak Island, and by another co-worker, to traditional Thanksgiving dinners.

Vinny was preceded by his wife Joan, his sister Jenny and his brother Joey.

He leaves behind his two brothers, Tony and Nick (his wife, Julianne); his three sons, Paul, James (his wife, Deborah), and Mark (his wife, Ayodele); five grandchildren, Matthew (his wife, Tatjana), Regina (her fiancé, Joseph), Mary (her husband, David), Gianna, and Eliyah; and four great-grandchildren, Chad, Arjana, Apollo, and Leonardo.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Visiting Nurse Services Hospice of Suffolk County (VNSHS) at 505 Main Street, Northport, New York 11768, in memory of Vincent Ippolito.