Vincent F. Spinelli

Vincent Spinelli, affectionately also known as Vinny or Uncle Kick A$$, passed peacefully after a short illness on December 21, 2022. Vinny grew up in the downtown Brooklyn area and moved to Staten Island in 1964 when he met and married the love of his life, the late Josephine Forlenza. They had two children, Lori-Ann (Robert Argento) and Vincent (Kate Wexler).

Vinny was the jack of all trades. He had hands of gold and could fix anything. He built his own home in the Sunnyside section of Staten Island. Upon selling that home, he purchased and completely renovated another home in Silver Lake. After moving to Eltingville in 1982, and retiring from “The Waterfront” as a longshoreman, he found his true passion which was cooking. Following his mother’s recipes from when he was a child, he began to grow all of his own vegetables every spring and prepared meals using only fresh ingredients. Italian food was his specialty and he took great pride in his Christmas Eve fish salad. He fed the neighborhood. No one left his home without either a full stomach or something to take home to eat.

Vinny was a sharp dresser. He would dress to the nines for any occasion. He loved to travel to his son and daughter in law’s home in Fort Lauderdale. He enjoyed fine wine and trips to Il Mulino in Manhattan with his family. He was always the life of the party, telling jokes and making people laugh. He enjoyed the simple things in life such as classic sitcoms, Sunday football, watching movies, dancing and listening to doo wop music, but nothing brought him more joy than spending time with his family, especially his children and grandchildren; Dominick Palladino and Cameron and Mia Spinelli who referred to him as “Gampy”. The bond he had with his sister Carmela Cafiso, was one like no other. His brother-in-law, Salvatore was never considered an in-law, he was his brother.

Vinny was someone that anybody could turn to. He was always without judgement and was always there to help anyone who needed him. To say that he will be missed tremendously will be an understatement. His entire family will need to learn to live without his enormous presence. To know him was to love him.

In addition to his immediate family members, he is also survived by his loving nieces and nephews; Denise, Vincent, Michael, Celeste and Frank. He was pre-deceased by his parents, Frank and Hilda Spinelli as well as his Godson and nephew Det. Salvatore Cafiso III.

A visitation for Vincent will be held Monday, December 26, 2022 from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM and 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM and at Casey McCallum Rice South Shore Funeral Home, 30 Nelson Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10308. A funeral service will take place on Tuesday, December 27, 2022 at 9:45 am at St. Clare Church, 110 Nelson Ave, Staten Island, NY 10308 followed by Christian burial service at Resurrection Cemetery, 361 Sharrott Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10309.