Nicola Mainelli

He was the beloved husband of Santa (Alessandro) Mainelli, they would have celebrated their 75th anniversary on December 2nd. Born in Providence and grew up on Federal Hill, he was a son of the late Nicola and Filomena (Vendetti) Mainelli.

Nick was the beloved father of Donna M. Brigida and her husband Michael, Barbara A. Ambrosino and her husband Salvatore; grandfather of Ali Brigida; great-grandfather of Sarina Resto; brother of Julio Mainelli and his wife Evelyn. He was the brother of the late Josephine Zampino, Felix Mainelli, Minnie Cook, Nancy Mainelli, Fanny Testa, Lena Paolantonio and Jenny Canzone. He also leaves his fur-grandchild Sergio.

Nick served in the U.S. Army Air Corp during WWII from 1942-1945 in the African and European Theaters. He served with the 15th Air Force, 98th Bomb Group, 345th Bomb Squadron and was an airplane mechanic on the B-24 Liberator. His plane was the Shanghai Lil. He worked for and retired from the U.S. Postal Service at the turnkey location for 30 years.

Nick was a great lover of music, he had his own band during WWII and loved to sing to his beautiful bride all the way up to his last days. He greatly enjoyed going to West Palm Beach, Florida where he and his wife were snowbirds for 30 years. He enjoyed dancing, golfing, bowling and playing cards with friends. He especially loved their cocktail hour. A lifelong Boston Red Sox fan, he was overjoyed he finally got to see them win the World Series four times in recent years since they won in 1918, when he was just one year old.

A special thank you to Dr. David Dosa of the VA and to his caretakers Mary Ann Sorrentino, Andrea Grimley and the entire group at Hope Hospice.

Visitation and funeral will be held Friday, 8:30-9:30 a.m. in the PONTARELLI-MARINO Home, 971 Branch Avenue, Providence. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. in St. Pius V Church, Eaton Street, Providence. Burial with military honors will be in St. Ann Cemetery, Cranston. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Hope Hospice & Palliative Care, 1085 North Main Street, Providence, RI 02904.