Angelo Joseph "Jinx" Ciolli

August 14, 1931 – December 31, 2022

With heavy hearts the Ciolli family announces the passing of Angelo Joseph “Jinx” Ciolli, who died peacefully in his sleep at age 91.

Angelo was born and raised in Youngstown, Ohio, son of Giovannina and Stefano Ciolli, and the youngest of seven children. He was christened “Angelo” but as a young boy earned the nickname “Jinx” by, as he would put it, always doing something he shouldn’t. Jinx is what his family called him.

He graduated from East High School in 1949 and proudly served in the U.S. Air Force working as a radio operator aboard mid-air refueling aircraft. He worked at Ohio Bell in Youngstown until hearing of a job prospect with the Federal Aviation Administration. After successfully completing training in 1960, he began what would become his lifelong career as an air traffic controller, a job that took him across the country as he progressed up the ranks. After “retiring” from the FAA in 2001 at age 70, he spent another seven years working as an air traffic controller under a civilian contract at Biggs Army Airfield.

In 1955 he met his future wife, Rose Marie Muscatello, and on September 20, 1958 they were married. Together they made a life filled with love and happiness. Side by side they moved to several different cities, in each new place making a home and friends. In 1976, Angelo and Rose Marie settled in the beautiful and mountainous desert of El Paso, Texas and that is where they called home and raised their two children.

Angelo was athletic and liked to keep in shape. He joined the YMCA at age 9 and remained a member his entire life, for a grand total of 82 years. In his youth he played football and baseball, earning the nickname “Crazy Legs Ciolli” in newspaper write-ups. He was an excellent swimmer. He was an avid handball player and played that sport into his 60’s, when a hip replacement surgery required him to unhappily set aside his handball and gloves. He was a talented artist, equally skilled in drawing comical characters and formal portraits. He was a life-long Yankees fan. He had a whip-smart sense of humor, spoke his mind, was hard working, proud of the Internet skills he picked up later in life, and was sharp as a tack to the end. Most of all, he took excellent care of his wife and children and loved his family dearly. The world is a lesser place without this special man in it.

A cornerstone of Angelo’s legacy is his 64-year marriage to his biggest supporter, best friend, and love of his life – his wife Rose Marie. Moving away from Youngstown and living so far from their families since early in their marriage, they were each other’s rock and support throughout the years, and they built a solid foundation of love and family that has been a model to their children and others.

Angelo leaves behind to cherish his memory his beloved wife Rose Marie Ciolli; daughter Jinx Ciolli Christensen and her husband Steve Christensen; son Joseph Ciolli and his wife Annette Ditty; and grandson Joseph Christensen. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews on both the Ciolli and Muscatello sides of the family; sisters- and brothers-in-law, whom he considered blood family; and many, many friends.

The family requests those who wish to express sympathy to consider making a donation in Angelo’s name to the Humane Society of El Paso.