Ralph Crispino

Ralph Crispino, 92, of Boynton Beach, Florida, passed away on Sept. 13, 2014 at Broward Imperial Hospital in Fort Lauderdale. He is survived by Helen Crispino and their 5 children: Ralph Crispino, Jr. of Milldale, Donald Crispino of Hernando, Florida, Jerry Crispino and wife Robin of Southington, Dennis Crispino and wife Kathleen of Bristol and Diane (Crispino) McNicholas of Plantsville. He leaves behind 12 grandchildren: Mark Crispino, Ashley (Crispino) DellaBitta, Grant Crispino, April Crispino, Aubrey Crispino, Amber Crispino and D.J. Crispino; Matt McNicholas; Jessica and Jeremy Crispino; Chris and Michael Crispino and 5 great-grandchildren. Ralph was predeceased by his parents Florindo and Filomena Crispino of Southington and his two brothers, Joseph and Fred (Cris) Crispino. He is also survived by his wife Trudy Philbin of Boynton Beach, Florida and her two children, John and Douglas Philbin, as well as 3 step-grandchildren.

Ralph was raised in Alifa, Italy. In 1937, at age 15 and with just an eighth grade education, he travelled to the U.S. on the USS Rex. Over time, he learned to speak, read and write English. He originally settled in Meriden but later moved to Southington, married Helen Czaplicki and started his family. In 1941, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and served for two years. In 1943, he was called home to work in the drop forging industry in support of the war effort.

Ralph was ambitious and a natural entrepreneur. He was a barber, a talented drop forger with self-taught mechanical skills, a supernumerary policeman, an owner of and partner in several businesses, an acquisitive real estate owner and, ultimately, a developer. He loved, and invested in, horses, horse racing and classic cars - and later in life, he enjoyed fishing.

His primary business career began when he purchased Thompson Forge in Bridgeport and moved it to the Atwater building in Plantsville. He renamed the business Rex Forge, grew the business and eventually took it public under the J.J. Ryan moniker. Among his other business endeavors: he purchased the Dickerman dairy farm in Milldale and, with several partners, later started a construction materials business there, Superior Products Distributors; was a part-owner of the Elliott Insurance Agency and was a founding board member and Vice President of the Citizens National Bank in Plantsville. He also built the Milldale post office and had an ownership stake in Spring Lake Manufacturing and the Great Barrington Fairgrounds in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

In his public life, he was a major funder of the construction of the, then new, Saint Aloysius Church in Plantsville; served for many years on the Southington Police Commission; was the chairman of the Police Building Group and was a member of Southington’s Planning & Zoning Commission. He was also a member of the Elks Club, the Sons of Italy and the Breakfast Club at Mary’s Diner.

Ralph was a mover and an innovator in business, a devoted family man and, because of his hard work, canny intuition and can-do spirit, an inspiring figure for his children.

Ralph Crispino truly did it “his way.”

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, September 20th at 9:15 am from the DellaVecchia Funeral Home, 211 N. Main St. to St. Aloysius Church, 254 Burritt St. Plantsville, at 10 am for a Mass of Christian Burial. Burial with Military honors will be at St. Thomas Cemetery. Calling hours will be on Friday, September 19th from 5-8 pm

The services will be officiated by Rev. Kevin M. Dillon. The pallbearers will be Mark Crispino, Grant Crispino, D.J. Crispino, Jeremy Crispino, Matt McNicholas, Christopher Crispino and Michael Crispino.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made in his name to the Standardbred Retirement Association, 353 Sweetmans Lane, Millstone, NJ 08535.