He was raised in Brooklyn with his Sister Margaret and Brother Andrew. He enjoyed playing basketball (Did you hear about the capes?) and visits to his relatives including riding his bicycle to Westfield New Jersey fueled by a few donuts and a soda. He graduated from Power Memorial Academy in 1961. He started his working career a few years later and served in the Army National Guard. (Have you heard the Fort Ord stories?)
Vincent worked his way through the financial world eventually becoming a corporate bond trader at Salomon Brothers. Over the years there, he developed strong relationships both inside and outside the company and served as a mentor and friend to many future traders and brokers.
His life’s adventures took him far beyond the borough of Brooklyn where he grew up. He made frequent pilgrimages to his adopted university Notre Dame and other schools for big sporting events (Did you hear about “dotting the I” from behind the tree long after an Ohio State game ended?). As an avid supporter of the Jets and then Giants, as well as the Hobart Statesman, and given his keen insights into sports, he earned his nickname “Coach”, even being called “Coach” by others in front of professional coaches. He loved the Yankees and often brought his friends and family to games with many great interactions such as riding the elevator with Billy Martin, parking next to Ron Guidry and drinks with Rick Cerone. Ski trips to Vail, even though he couldn’t ski, white water rafting, kissing the Blarney Stone, and the drive up to Haleakala with his family were just some of the loves in his life. Trips to Saratoga were an annual summer ritual (Should kids learn to handicap at 12 years old?). Dinners at his second kitchen, maybe his first, at Smith and Wollies were always a good time (How many hours is the typical dinner: 2, 3, 4?). He treated life well.
Throughout his life, he loved and gave to others, often more than he gave to himself. Whether that was slipping “coffee money” to his family (does a 6 year old need a 20 spot?), being a teacher and mentor to those joining him at Salomon, coaching Little League, or stopping by as “I was in the neighborhood” just to say hello (even though his neighborhood was 50 miles away). He would have a smile on his face when he took his granddaughters to American Girl or chatting with his grandsons about the Yankees or ND football and you knew that he was just absorbing life whenever he could. He took tremendous pride in his three sons finishing their college education as he never did.
The cliché is that someone can talk to a wall, but with Vinnie it wasn’t just talking, it was bonding. He could talk to anyone and find a bond, he would be your best friend in five minutes. Maybe it was bartender in Vegas talking about the ponies, maybe it was a cab driver in Waterford, or chatting with flight attendants (he hated to fly) so instead of getting a buh-bye, it was a “take care Vinnie, have a great trip” or maybe it was just being a friendly ear to a stranger (Did you ever hear about the random guy getting life lessons at Denver International?). He may have barked at you or told you to take it down a notch, “act like you’ve been in the endzone before”, or to step it up “stay out with the pigs, but rise with the eagles”, but everyone knew it came from a deep love and respect for those around him and eventually everything would be “copacetic”.
Whether you called him Vinnie, Coach, Brother, Dad, or Husband, you knew he was your supporter, mentor, and most importantly, your friend. He loved everyone very much and grabbed all he could when life offered him another adventure. He will be missed by many, especially those he preceded in death: his wife Janey, his sons Donald, Christian, James (Jamie) and his eight grandchildren.
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