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Vincent Fandetti

Obituary

VINCENT A. FANDETTI, 77, of Vernon, CT, formerly of Providence, passed away on vacation Saturday, October 10, 2009 at Samaritan Medical Center in Watertown, NY. He was the beloved husband of the late Winifred Fandetti. Born in Providence, he was the son of the late Vincent and Rose (Pezzi) Fandetti.

Vincent was a welder at Pratt Whitney in CT for many years before retiring and was a U.S. Army veteran.

He is survived by his son, Vincent G. Fandetti of Rocky Hill, CT; three sisters, Maria Loffredo of North Kingstown and Josephine Corrente and Rosemary Corrente, both of West Warwick; one brother, Frank Fandetti of Round Rock, TX; and two grandchildren. He was the brother of the late Domenic and John Fandetti.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend a Mass of Christian Burial on Friday at 10:00 a.m. in St. Francis de Sales Church, 381 School St., North Kingstown, followed by inurnment at Quidnessett Memorial Cemetery, North Kingstown.

Visiting hours and flowers are respectfully omitted.

Thoughts from Vincent's friends

• Bill Tribou

  I first met Vin Fandetti at Keney Park in Hartford on Dec. 16th, 1967 at the third race of my comeback to road racing after a 20 year layoff. I arrived at the park entrance about an hour and a half before the race was scheduled to start. The weather conditions were horrible - freezing cold and a windblown rain falling - practically a blizzard. After a short wait I went over to the only other car there and asked the fellow if he thought the race would be cancelled - he said "Oh no there would be more people here in a little while." I introduced myself to Vin Fandetti and thanked him. Sure enough just as he said more people - 29 more to be exact showed up. The race put on by Charlie Dyson, President of the Hartford Track Club, went on as scheduled. I thought I finished next to last and told Vinnie that when he said "No Bill, I'm sorry to say that you finished dead last, the kid you passed with that nice finishing kick you put on dropped out as soon as you got by him."

  That was the beginning of my long friendship with Vin Fandetti.

  In those days practically all the road races were in Mass. and Vinnie and I along with our women drove to practically all of them together and on our way home invariably stopped at a steak house on Rte 20. To celebrate Vin's win and my finishing better than last. Those were the good ole days.

  Vinnie went on to be become a real good masters runner, President of The Hartford Track Club and AAU Chairman in CT for several years.

  Vinnie died unexpectedly at 77 years old on Oct. 10, 2009. He will be terribly missed by the running family. Good bye Vin and God Bless you.

• Caroline Lloyd

  Vin Fandetti, a lifelong runner, athlete and former Hartford Track Club president, died on October 10, just one day before his 78th birthday.

  Vinnie's athletic career began as a ball player. While serving in World War II, he pitched for the U.S. Army baseball team on Okinawa. After the war, in his 30's, he started running, training for events at all distances; 5K, 10K and the marathon. A fellow runner, Charley Dyson, remembers that Vinnie, at the age of 44, ran an impressive sub-16 minutes for three miles in a senior meet at Southern Connecticut State University.

  Vinnie was an active member and race volunteer in the 1970's. He also served as registration chairman for the AAU for many years. John Vitale recalls that Vin was a shrewd chairman, knowing who was who in the running ranks. He paid the postage required for the job out of his own pocket. Vin also relished the role of finish line announcer at the GHADA two-milers held in Hartford for two decades

  His love of food was also legendary. He regularly loaded up his car with sanwiches and beer for race finishers. Charley recalls a return trip from the Cape Cod relays when Vinnie stopped at three or four diners before they even reached Providence. The car was filled with empty take-out containers!

  In his seventies, after a hip replacement, and against the advice of his doctors, Vin began running again. Perhaps the fondest memory many will keep of him is the Granby 10K race when Vin took a wrong turn and ended up running about ten miles before a police cruiser found him and drove him to the finish. He certainly was a running legend!