Obituary of Aldo A. Massimi

We mourn the loss of Aldo A. Massimi, who was born in Yonkers on May 18, 1924 and left this world on January 28, 2015. Mr. Massimi spent most of his life in Yonkers, graduating from St. Mary's Elementary School and Yonkers High School. He also attended Saunders Technical and Trade School where he became proficient at welding, a skill he later used while working in a Baltimore MD shipyard. Aldo enlisted in the United States Navy in December 1942 and served as an Aviation Machinist Mate in the South Pacific Theatre aboard the Petrof Bay, an escort carrier that was involved in several major battles. At the Battle of Samar Island, a Japanese kamikaze plane missed the stern of the ship by 15 feet, hitting the water and spraying seawater and gasoline over the sailors watching the action - Mr. Massimi's recollection of this event included his comment that certain the plane would hit the ship, his particular concern at the time was trying to decide which side to jump from. Following the cessation of hostilities, he was assigned to the Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, where he assisted in training military pilots to transition to commercial airplanes. He received his Honorable Discharge from the Navy in February 1946. On his return to Yonkers, he began a long career at CIT Financial, a subsidiary of Service Leasing Corporation, rising to the position of Treasurer at the Madison Avenue (NYC) headquarters. Aldo married his childhood sweetheart Gertrude Ringler on June 15, 1947, the two having known each other "since we were about 10 or 12 years old." Following their wedding at St. Mary's, the couple had planned a "small reception" because of "financial considerations", but would laughingly recall that so many friends came uninvited that they had to "open many of the gift envelopes so we could pay for the party." Except for a 4 year stint at a CIT branch office in Wilmington DE, the couple resided in Yonkers while Mr. Masimi took various business and accounting courses at Iona College and Columbia University through the G.I. Benefits Bill. Mr. Massimi later left CIT when the company relocated and was employed at Manhattan Ford, Lincoln, Mercury as head of the fleet sales department. Mr. Massimi was active in the American Legion, several church groups at St. Dennis, and Toastmasters International. Aldo and Gertrude enjoyed dancing, traveling, and above all, their family. Aldo was pre-deceased by his parents Vito and Victoria, his brother Italo and sister-in-law Lillian, and Gertrude, the love of his life, who passed away in 2012. He is survived by their son David and wife Theresa, daughter Victoria and husband Warren DeSantis, 4 grandchildren Alice and husband Lee Crouch, Emily Massimi, Daniel and Rebecca DeSantis and 1 great-grandchild John Michael Crouch (whom they both knew and enjoyed). In lieu of flowers the family requests donations in Aldo's name to St. Christopher's Inn at Graymoor (P.O. Box 303, Garrison, NY 10524) or Guiding Eyes for the Blind (611 Granite Springs Road, Yorktown Heights, NY 10598). Following a 10AM Mass of Christian Burial at St. Elizabeth Seton Church in Shrub Oak (NY), interment will be at Rose Hills Cemetery on Saturday, February 7.