Mario Decarlo
March 14, 1925 — March 14, 2018
Mario DeCarlo, 93, passed away March 14, 2018 at home with his family by his side. Born in Stamford, March 14, 1925 he was the son of the late Rocky and Angelina Sylvestri DeCarlo.
Mario DeCarlo, a Stamford community leader for decades, spent his life making a difference to his family, friends and community.
A native of Stamford, Mario dropped out of school in ninth grade to help support his family during tough times. During World War II, Mario joined the United States Army where he landed at Normandy Beach and participated in five major battles including, D-Day and The Battle of the Bulge, which brought an end to the war. He was wounded in Trier, Germany, where he received the Military Order of the Purple Heart.
Upon his discharge in 1946, he joined his father to create Rocky DeCarlo and Sons construction company which was instrumental in building many of the roads throughout Stamford. He later formed Carlton Construction where he built hundreds of homes, apartments and office complexes throughout Stamford and Connecticut.
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Mario met the love of his life, the late Frances (Gooch) DeCarlo, when he was 16 years old and was married in 1947 where they celebrated 68 years together before her death in 2015. They were blessed with four daughters, Maureen Valiquette, Roxanne DeCarlo, Debora DeCarlo Rosa and Angela DeCarlo, nine grandchildren, and seven great grandchildren.
Mr. DeCarlo has been involved with various community organizations over many years. He founded Gateway, one of Stamford's first drug counseling and rehabilitation centers. He has been recognized numerous times for his contributions including, being the recipient of UNICO's Giuseppe Garibaldi award, the Italian-American service organization's highest honor, given to a person of Italian descent who has made significant contributions to the advancement of the Italian culture and tradition in the U.S. During his stint as Police Commissioner of Stamford in the early 1990s, he brought more than 30 policemen back to work through the Police Equal Pay organization. He also served on the board of the American Red Cross in Stamford and helped erect a statue of Christopher Columbus in Columbus Park. DeCarlo is a past Grand Marshal of Stamford's Columbus Day Parade, as well as Boys' Town of Italy's Man of the Year.
He was most proud as a member on the Board of Directors for the Italian Center of Stamford where he was instrumental in finding the property and forming the group that founded its current location at 1620 Newfield Ave. His leadership helped create this 28 acre not for profit community center that has been responsible for giving back millions of dollars in cash and in-kind contributions to the Stamford community.
Mario is survived by his devoted loving children, Maureen Valiquette and her husband Michael, Roxanne DeCarlo, Debora DeCarlo Rosa and her husband Vin, Angela DeCarlo, his grandchildren, Jennifer Valiquette, Justin Valiquette and his wife Abbey, Nicole Nieves and her husband Willie, Siena DeFranco, Tavia DeFranco, Briana DeFranco, Katie Rosa, and Erin Rosa as well as his great grandchildren, Bryce Valiquette, Addison Valiquette, Cayden Valiquette, Isabella Valiquette, Aniaya Nieves, Ava Nieves, and Michael Stadelman, his sisters Marie Palmer and Lorraine Viteretto, and his brother Everett DeCarlo, as well as his many nieces and nephews. Besides his parents, he was predeceased by his wife Frances DeCarlo.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, March 17, 2018 at 10:30AM at St. Cecilia RC Church, 1184 Newfield Avenue, Stamford CT 06905. Entombment will follow at St John’s Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Mario’s memory to the Italian Center of Stamford, 1620 Newfield Ave, Stamford, CT 06905. http://www.italiancenter.org
To leave online condolences, please visit www.Cognetta.com
Mario DeCarlo, a Stamford community leader for decades, spent his life making a difference to his family, friends and community.
A native of Stamford, Mario dropped out of school in ninth grade to help support his family during tough times. During World War II, Mario joined the United States Army where he landed at Normandy Beach and participated in five major battles including, D-Day and The Battle of the Bulge, which brought an end to the war. He was wounded in Trier, Germany, where he received the Military Order of the Purple Heart.
Upon his discharge in 1946, he joined his father to create Rocky DeCarlo and Sons construction company which was instrumental in building many of the roads throughout Stamford. He later formed Carlton Construction where he built hundreds of homes, apartments and office complexes throughout Stamford and Connecticut.
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Mario met the love of his life, the late Frances (Gooch) DeCarlo, when he was 16 years old and was married in 1947 where they celebrated 68 years together before her death in 2015. They were blessed with four daughters, Maureen Valiquette, Roxanne DeCarlo, Debora DeCarlo Rosa and Angela DeCarlo, nine grandchildren, and seven great grandchildren.
Mr. DeCarlo has been involved with various community organizations over many years. He founded Gateway, one of Stamford's first drug counseling and rehabilitation centers. He has been recognized numerous times for his contributions including, being the recipient of UNICO's Giuseppe Garibaldi award, the Italian-American service organization's highest honor, given to a person of Italian descent who has made significant contributions to the advancement of the Italian culture and tradition in the U.S. During his stint as Police Commissioner of Stamford in the early 1990s, he brought more than 30 policemen back to work through the Police Equal Pay organization. He also served on the board of the American Red Cross in Stamford and helped erect a statue of Christopher Columbus in Columbus Park. DeCarlo is a past Grand Marshal of Stamford's Columbus Day Parade, as well as Boys' Town of Italy's Man of the Year.
He was most proud as a member on the Board of Directors for the Italian Center of Stamford where he was instrumental in finding the property and forming the group that founded its current location at 1620 Newfield Ave. His leadership helped create this 28 acre not for profit community center that has been responsible for giving back millions of dollars in cash and in-kind contributions to the Stamford community.
Mario is survived by his devoted loving children, Maureen Valiquette and her husband Michael, Roxanne DeCarlo, Debora DeCarlo Rosa and her husband Vin, Angela DeCarlo, his grandchildren, Jennifer Valiquette, Justin Valiquette and his wife Abbey, Nicole Nieves and her husband Willie, Siena DeFranco, Tavia DeFranco, Briana DeFranco, Katie Rosa, and Erin Rosa as well as his great grandchildren, Bryce Valiquette, Addison Valiquette, Cayden Valiquette, Isabella Valiquette, Aniaya Nieves, Ava Nieves, and Michael Stadelman, his sisters Marie Palmer and Lorraine Viteretto, and his brother Everett DeCarlo, as well as his many nieces and nephews. Besides his parents, he was predeceased by his wife Frances DeCarlo.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, March 17, 2018 at 10:30AM at St. Cecilia RC Church, 1184 Newfield Avenue, Stamford CT 06905. Entombment will follow at St John’s Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Mario’s memory to the Italian Center of Stamford, 1620 Newfield Ave, Stamford, CT 06905. http://www.italiancenter.org
To leave online condolences, please visit www.Cognetta.com
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Mario Decarlo, please visit our flower store.