Vincent F. Donato

On Tuesday, February 23, 2021, Vincent Francis Donato of Sunrise, Florida, peacefully passed away at the age of 94. Vincent was the devoted husband of Florence E. Donato whom he was married to for 72 years. He cherished her, held her hand and lovingly called her “his bride”. He was a wonderful husband, grandfather, great grandfather, brother, uncle, cousin and friend. He was predeceased by his beloved wife Florence and son, Anthony Donato. Vincent is survived by his children: Toni (Joe) Passarello, Pattie (Chuck) Schulze, Joe (Julie) Donato, Vincent (Dot) Donato, Margaret (Kragen) Kuhnen, John (Debi) Donato, Florence Donato, Frances (Jan) Donato, Thomas (Andrea) Donato, and Robert Donato. He is survived by his Grandchildren and Step Grandchildren: Jennifer Boyland, Matthew Passarello, Heather Sciacca, Starr Penn, Elizabeth Mejia, Anthony Donato, Zoe Kuhnen, Vincent Donato, Veronica Donato, Fae Kuhnen, and Arianna Donato. Vincent is also survived by his Great Grandchildren and Great Step Grandchildren: Augustine Boyland, Jagger Boyland, Griffin Boyland Keegen Boyland, Jackson Sciacca, Serafina Penn, Stella Penn and Steven Penn, and Ivy Margaret Camilleri. Vincent is survived by many nieces and nephews as well as other dear cousins and friends. Vincent was a proud WWII veteran serving in the US Navy on the USS Waukesha in Pacific Campaign. Later in life he could be heard telling his war stories around the family table or while wearing his Veterans hat at the pool. He loved his country and was honored to serve and preserve our freedoms. Vincent had many jobs, often more than one at the same time, to provide for his large family. His first job out of the Navy was a New York City Trolley car driver until a city job came through for him. He worked hard for over 20 years with the NYC Department of Sanitation along with being a sacristan for St. Mary’s Help of Christians Church or a custodian at PS 229 school in Woodside. Semi-retiring in 1972, he moved to Florida and worked for the City of Ft. Lauderdale, Department of Utilities until his retirement in 1987. When he wasn’t hard at work in his younger years, he was a Scout Master for a Boy Scout troop at St. Mary’s and a Volunteer Firefighter during the summers in Breezy Point, New York. He was a born leader and became the President of the Winding Lakes (Phase 2) Condo Association for many years. Vincent was so proud of his family. When his children were young, he would pack them into a VW van each summer and go off to the beach. He loved to fish and his fishing poles were always ready for the lake or ocean. Vincent loved to play handball and baseball was his favorite sport. He was a New York Giants fan growing up in Brooklyn and was a happy knothole kid watching the Dodger’s games through the fence. When he moved to Florida, he became an avid Marlins fan. He attended one of the 1997 World Series game and commented “I never thought in my lifetime that I would attend a world series game and feast on stone crabs”. He was thrilled when his Marlins went on to win the World Series. He always had a garden wherever he lived. He had “magic” hands for growing plants, flowers, fruit trees, vegetables and herbs. The fresh basil would be added to his tomatoes to make sauce that would be poured over his homemade pasta or raviolis, or sprinkled over the fresh fish he caught. He liked to help his wife, Florence, cook for the family and would barbeque for Sunday family dinner, birthdays, and holidays. His humor was legendary. His infamous “Gramps-isms” made the grandkids laugh and he’d say, “These are the jokes!” When he played cards and got the winning joker he’d yell “Cha-ching” and mischievously announce, “count ‘em up!”. He often took movies of his family and narrated a documentary of the family’s history from the old super 8 films complete with his favorite Italian music. Vincent loved passing on his Italian heritage, music and traditions to all of his children, grand and great grandchildren. Vincent was a man of faith who was an active member at All Saints Catholic Church in Sunrise, Florida. He loved attending Mass and serving as an usher and Eucharistic minister. He found strength in prayers, singing hymns and worship songs. Vincent especially liked teaching the next generation of boys and girls to be altar servers. His favorite activities were being part of the senior group, playing cards, bowling, golf, going to bingo, and working the rummage sale. He was often flipping pancakes and making coffee for the men’s club breakfast. The visitation is at TM Ralph Sunrise on Sunday, February 28th, 2021 from 2-5pm. Mass will be at All Saints Catholic Church in Sunrise on Monday, March 1, 2021 at 11:30 am. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to provide health and social services for Veterans at The Gary Sinise Foundation, 1901 Avenue of the Stars, Los Angeles, CA 90067 (818) 432-8988. Website: garysinisefoundation.org.