STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Joseph Thomas Bianco Sr., 81, of Pleasant Plains, a retired Port Authority carpenter who was a loving, kind and generous man, died Thursday in Staten University Hospital, Prince's Bay.
Mr. Bianco was born and raised in Manhattan. He moved to Pleasant Plains 45 years ago.
He worked for 30 years as a carpenter for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. He retired as a foreman in 1988.
Mr. Bianco and his wife, Lucille, were the foster parents to 23 children.
He enjoyed making crafts from wood, including birdhouses and children's toys. He also enjoyed gardening and cooking.
Mr. Bianco served in the U.S. Navy as a chief petty officer during the Korean War era. He was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
He was a parishioner of St. Joseph-St. Thomas R.C. Parish, Pleasant Plains.
His wife of 33 years, Lucille, died in 1989, and his son, Joseph Jr., in 1961.
He is survived by his sons, John Rosa and Pablo Cepada; his daughters, Jessica and Tina Bianco, Angela Modica and Joan Mazzella; his sisters, Nancy Bianco and Marie Christian, and nine grandchildren.
The funeral will be Tuesday from the Casey McCallum Rice South Shore Funeral Home, Great Kills, with a mass at 9:30 a.m. in St. Thomas the Apostle R.C. Church, Pleasant Plains. Burial will be in Resurrection Cemetery, also Pleasant Plains.
