Teodorico Vittorioso

Teo’s funeral Mass will be held in Our Lady of the Lake Church, 1400 Main St., Leominster on Tuesday, December 26, at 10:30 am. There are no calling hours. Brandon Funeral Home, 305 Wanoosnoc Rd., Fitchburg is directing arrangements.



TEODORICO VITTORIOSO

“The broom doesn’t speak English”

Teodorico Vittorioso (“Teo”), age 88, of Leominster, Massachusetts, passed away at home on Wednesday, December 20, 2017. He was the adored husband of Edda (Campagna) Vittorioso, and the son of Alessandro Vittorioso and Tilde (Antonucci) Vittorioso. He is predeceased by his younger brother, Attilio Vittorioso, former head of the Italian Carabinieri, and his wife Rita (Minelli) Vittorioso of Rome, Italy. He is also predeceased by his grandniece, Vanessa T. Marcotte.

In addition to his loving wife of 64 years, Teo is survived by his two admiring children: his son, Alessandro (“Sandro”) Vittorioso, and his wife, Lynne (Brown) Vittorioso of Lancaster, Massachusetts, his daughter, Carol (Vittorioso) Gallagher and her husband, Sean J. Gallagher of Bolton, Massachusetts. He leaves his beloved grandchildren, the lights of his life, Stephen Vittorioso, and his wife, Jenna (Gray) Vittorioso of Weymouth, Massachusetts, Matthew Vittorioso and his wife, Jenna (Grupinski) Vittorioso of Charlotte, North Carolina, Michael Vittorioso of Somerville, Massachusetts, Andrew Vittorioso of Lancaster, Massachusetts, and Grace Gallagher of Bolton, Massachusetts. Teo leaves several nieces and nephews in Corfinio, Rome, and locally, particularly his three dear nieces and former co-workers, Diega (Campagna) Therrien, Anna (Ferzoco)Tocci, and Rossana (Campagna) Marcotte.

Teo also leaves behind hundreds of losing tickets at Saratoga Race Track.

Teo was born in Corfinio, L’Aquila, Italy on November 5, 1929. During his youth, he lived in the small town where his parents owned their bottega, Bar Tilde, which remains in operation today, by his youngest brother, Troelio (“Elio”) Vittorioso and his wife, Adriana (Bernardi) Vittorioso. Teo left Corfinio at age 17 to join the Italian Navy in which he served until he married Edda, also from Corfinio, in 1953.

Teo emigrated to the United States in 1954 where he started his career as a floor sweeper at Allied Container, a manufacturer of corrugated boxes in Dedham, Massachusetts. In 1961, when realizing his broken English did not preclude him from sweeping floors or running a business, he, along with his three brothers-in-law, the late Rolando Campagna, Osvaldo Ferzoco, and Rivelo Campagna, co-founded and co-owned Star Container Corporation originally located on Nashua Street in Leominster and later in nearby Pioneer Industrial Park. Star employed more than 150 loyal and dedicated employees for more than 40 years.

In 1997, the Italian Consul of Boston nominated Teo for the most prestigious recognition of “Cavalieri del Lavoro”, “the Knighthood of Industry”, the highest honor a civilian can achieve in Italy, which was presented to him by the President of Italy.

Teo loved his life, his work, his family and his hobby of handicapping the horses. While he had more losses than wins in handicapping, his wins certainly outweighed his losses in life, work and family.