Joseph L Bernardo

He was born in Brooklyn, NY to the late Pasquale and Caterina (Bagnoli) Bernardo. At age 18 he went to serve is the US Army during WWII in the 11th Airborne Div., Company F, 188th Parachute Glider Infantry in the South Pacific until his Honorable Discharge. During his time in the Army he was awarded the following: Good Conduct Medal, Purple Heart, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign, WWII Victory Medal, American Campaign, Distinguished Unit Citation and the Honorable Service Lapel Button. Thereafter he worked primarily as a Corrections Officer for the State of CT in Montville until his retirement.

On April 27, 1947, he married his beloved wife, Carmela (Covino) who predeceased him in 2000.

Joseph enjoyed playing cards with family and with friends at the Elks and American Legion. He was a great cook and was a fan of the NY Giants, San Francisco Giants and NY Yankees. He loved spending time with his family and took special joy in time spent with grand and great grandchildren especially after losing the love of his life, Carmela. He was a communicant of the Cathedral of St. Patrick and regularly attended St. Joseph Church as well.

He is survived by his son; Pasquale “Patrick” Berenardo and wife Barbara, daughter; Cathy Iozzia and husband Remo, grandchildren; John Iozzia and wife Scout, Camille Bray and husband Tim, Joseph Iozzia and wife Katie, Karissa Campbell and husband Dave, Patrick Bernardo and wife Olivia, Jeremy Bates, and Erica Pauze and husband Mike, 10 great grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his wife Carmela, one brother and two sisters.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Wednesday at 10am at St. Joseph Church, 120 Cliff St., Norwich meeting directly at the church. Interment with Military Honors will immediately follow at St Joseph Cemetery in Norwich. Calling Hours / Visitation will be Tuesday evening from 6pm – 8pm at the Labenski Funeral Home, 107 Boswell Av., Norwich, CT.

In Joseph’s memory, the family will accept flowers or donations to St. Jude Children’s Hospital.

To leave an online condolence, please visit www.labenskifuneralhome.com