Vito Carmine Anzalone died Thursday, June 22, 2017, at his home in Stirling, NJ. He was 96.
Vito was born on June 15, 1921. He was the seventh of 8 children born to the late Camilla (Galante) and Luigi Anzalone in Flumeri, Italy where he lived until immigrating to Stirling, NJ in 1970.
Vito had a lifelong love of tending the fruits of the earth. As a farmer in Italy, he grew wheat, sugar beets, and tobacco, in addition to various vegetables, fruits, nuts, and olives. He was justifiably proud of the homemade wine he produced from his own grapes. He was drafted into the Italian Airforce where he served from 1940-1945, the last two years of which he endured imprisonment in a German labor camp. After the war, he returned to the family farm where his innate drive for innovation led him to bring many improvements to his farming practices. After an earthquake severely damaged his hometown and surrounding area in the early1960’s, Vito put his talent in carpentry to work, first building his own home and then starting his own construction company to help the area recover.
In 1948, he married Angela Iorillo of Flumeri. Together they immigrated to the US with their three children in 1970, settling in Stirling, NJ. Vito continued his love of nurturing plants at Millington Nurseries, where he worked until his retirement in 1989. In his later years, he was able to devote more time to his garden, and also found many hours of enjoyment playing cards, bowling, and spending time with family and friends. He took up the game of golf in his late seventies.
He was predeceased by his wife Angela (Iorillo) Anzalone in 2015 and all his siblings. He is survived by his daughter Camilla and her husband Antonio Palumbo, two sons Luigi and his wife Cynthia, and Joe and his wife Maureen. He was a doting grandfather to seven grandchildren Tomasina, Mariangela, Christina, Joseph, Andrew, Giselle and Nicole, and three great-grandchildren Isabella, Colin, and Molly.
Visitation for Vito will be Sunday, June 25, 2017, from 1-4 pm at the Valley Memorial Funeral Home 1012 Valley Rd., Gillette, NJ. A Mass of Christian Burial will be Monday, June 26, 2017, at St. Vincent de Pau RC Church, Bebout Ave., Stirling at 10 am with Fr. Richard Carton Officiating. Committal will follow at Somerset Hills Cemetery Basking Ridge NJ For information and online condolences visit valleymemorialfuneralhome.net.

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