Frank Tamborino
Frank Tamborino, Jr. was 100 and 8 months old when he passed away peacefully at home on June 4, 2024.
He was born in Ambler, PA on October 1, 1923, to Frank and Philomena Tamborino; Frank moved to Stamford at the age of 5. He attended Stamford schools and served in the U. S. Army during World War II (1943-46). He fought in the Battle of the Bulge with the 81st Combat Engineer Battalion of the 106th Infantry Division. He was awarded the Purple Heart and the Battalion received a Unit Citation for extraordinary heroism, gallantry and determination.
Frank started to work at a very young age, doing anything he could to help his family during the Depression. He saved enough money for his father to buy an oil truck and start an oil delivery business.
After the war, Frank returned to his job at Norma Hoffman Bearing Corp. In 1947, he married the love of his life Antoinette (Dolly) Sollitto. They were married for 63 years until her death in 2010.
In 1963, Frank went to work for the Stamford Board of Education where he held several positions which concluded with Head Custodian at Westhill High School. Following his retirement in 1986, Frank and Dolly became “snow birds” and wintered in Davie, FL where he would play cards, go to the horse track and socialize. There was never a person he wouldn’t say hello to or a child he wouldn’t play with. Pleasant to the very end, he thanked his hospice nurse for coming to see him hours before his passing.
Frank loved being with his family and there was nowhere he would rather be. Affectionately known as Pop Pop to his grandchildren and great grandchildren, he was always walking the kids to the park, usually with one of his grandchildren on his shoulders, to play with them on the playground. A trip to the park wasn’t complete without stopping at construction equipment passed along the way for them to explore. He watched his kids, grandchildren and great grandchildren play countless baseball games and other sports and whenever Dad/Pop Pop was there, he was cheering loudly and providing his opinion of all the players, good or bad, regardless of whether they were his family or not. Dad/Pop Pop instilled in us a love for card games, a passion for the NY Yankees and an enthusiasm for horse racing. One of his favorite things to do after Dolly passed was to play pinochle with his grandchildren on a Sunday afternoon. He was a regular at the Grade A on Shippan Avenue where they would announce his milestone birthdays over the loudspeaker.
In his early days, Frank played softball and was an avid bowler. He was a member of St. Mary RC Church since the 1940s serving as an usher at Sunday Mass and volunteering at the fairs for many years.
Frank is survived by his four children: his son, Frank Tamborino, III and his wife Elyse of Stamford, CT, daughters Phyllis Taylor and her husband Brian of Palm Coast, FL, Anna Tamborino and her husband Paul Furgalack of Milford, CT and Donna Condon and her husband Stephen also of Stamford, CT, as well as a brother Paul (Barbara), a brother-in-law Albert Zoppi and several nieces and nephews.
Also surviving are his grandchildren Robert Tayor, Gregory Taylor (Erika), Jennifer Tamborino Riveles (Michael), Lauren Tamborino Bell (Justin), Mark Condon (Stephanie), Nicholas Condon (Shannon) and Christopher Condon (Laura); and great-grandchildren Hailey and Dylan Riveles, Natalie Taylor, Joanna and Daniel Bell, and Cole, Lindsay, Andie and Cameron Condon.
Besides his parents and wife, Frank was predeceased by his brothers Anthony, John, Italo and sister Mary Ann Zoppi.
We would like to thank Visiting Nurse of Waveny for the excellent care and support that they gave Frank and the family, and a special thank you to his caregiver, IA, for taking such good care of him.
Friends and family may call on Thursday, June 13th, from 3 pm to 7 pm, at the Nicholas F. Cognetta Funeral Home, 104 Myrtle Avenue, in Stamford. A mass of Christian burial will take place on Friday, June 14th at 11:00am at St. Mary R.C. Church, 566 Elm Street. Entombment with military honors will immediately follow mass at St. John R.C. Cemetery in Darien.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating in Frank’s name to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105, or online at www.stjude.org/donate.
To leave a message of condolence online you may visit the guestbook hosted on www.cognetta.com.