Vincent J. Viviano

One of 18 siblings, born to Vito and Josephine Viviano, he grew up on Elizabeth St. in the Little Italy neighborhood of Manhattan. As one of 9 who survived to adulthood, after graduating from high school, he went to work as a freight forwarder at LaGuardia Airport and Idlewild Airport (now John F. Kennedy Airport). He married Rose Biondo on September 13th, 1952 and they shared 66 years, first on Green Ave in the Bushwick section of Brooklyn where they made many life-long friends, and later moving to Plainview, NY, in 1962. While in Bushwick, he was an avid bowler at Bushwick Lanes and was active in his parish church, St. Barbara’s. He resided in Plainview for 55 years until Oct 2017 when he and Rose moved to The Bristal at Lake Success. He is predeceased by his wife Rose, brothers Anthony, Paul and Charles, sisters Frances, Carmela (Millie), Katherine (Kate), and recently sister-in-law Gracie Viviano, wife of Paul. He is survived by his sisters Anna Torres and Augusta (“Gussie”) Colletti, nieces Trinidad (Trina) Cantone, Josephine Catapano, Donna Torres, Anthony Coletti, Jr., Linda Schultz, Brenda Biondo, Charlene Schetti, Julia Mollica, Angel Maranaccio, Josephine Morale, along with nephews Vito Torres and Frank Biondo, and many, many treasured great nieces and nephews. He also leaves behind many honorary relatives, including Philip Purpura and Pino Giramida

In addition to working for many years as an export expediter at JFK Airport, he enjoyed interior and exterior house painting, decorating and renovating, keeping his Plainview home in top form. After retirement from JFK, he continued to work, first as a Town of Oyster Bay employee and then as a teacher’s aide along with his wife. Jim always enjoyed socializing with neighbors and friends. He and his wife also took regular trips to Atlantic City, the Pennsylvania countryside and to Upstate New York. Jim loved children and also working with his hands, caring for his beloved home and using his skills in side work as a painter. He combined his love of children and painting in later years through creation of cartoon characters for neighborhood children and relatives. Rose and Jim also fostered a young man and Jim was active in his parish church, Holy Name of Jesus in Woodbury, as an usher for decades, and was also a member of the local chapter of the Knights of Columbus.

Because of the pandemic, burial will be privately at Cemetery of the Holy Rood in Westbury and a memorial mass will be planned for the autumn.