Valentino John “aka STUBBY” Zacchi, was born in Manhattan, New York on January 28, 1931 to John and Stella (nee Serciscia) Strazzulla and went to the Big Meeting in the sky on April 8, 2019. Beloved husband of the late Santa Maria and Violet (nee Hicks). Dear brother of the late Concetta, his twin sister, Rocco “Rocky” and his wife, Evelyn and Jean Cirignano. Loving “Uncle Val” of Loretta Egan, Patricia Surdi and the late Steven and Judy and her husband, Michael. The whereabouts of his only child, Theresa, is unknown. He is also survived by several grand-nieces and grand-nephews and over the past 30 years numerous friends of Bill W. 

Valentino was inducted into the U.S. Army on 11-8-1951and spent 11 months active duty in Korea. He was awarded the Korean Service Medal with 2 Bronze Campaign Stars, the United Nations Service Medal, an Overseas Bar and a Combat Infantry Badge. After 8 years of active and reserve duty he was Honorably Discharged on 12-11-1959 and formally acknowledged for his “Honest and Faithful Service”.

Relatives and friends are invited to a prayer service and military honors for Valentino and Violet Zacchi at 12:00 pm on May 18, 2019, at the Gloucester County Veterans Cemetery, 240 Tuckahoe Rd. (County Route 555) Williamstown, NJ 08094. Their cremated remains will be entombed in a niche in the columbarium at the cemetery.

Memorial Letter from Patti:

Valentino Zacchi was my favorite uncle! During this past year, he and I would spend a lot of time on the phone reminiscing about “the good old days”, as he called it. He was always so excited when I called and would say “Patti, my little niece!”. Remembering everyone by name, he would ask about each member of the family before telling me about his latest room decoration or event happening where he lived. Always with a positive outlook he would tell me what costume he wanted to wear for Halloween a year from now or what he was going to sing at the next party.
My earliest memory is sitting on his lap when he returned from the Korean War. I guess I was in awe of how handsome he looked in his uniform and how he carried a big Bazooka gun during the war! He spent a lot of time at our house when I was growing up. He was always very muscular and strong so he often helped my parents with their many home projects. But I liked the evenings the best because I would cuddle in his lap while we watched sci-fi movies and cling to him during the scary parts.
We had a lot in common. Not only did we like the same movies, we both loved animals. He had many pets, mostly cats and ferrets but we would talk endlessly about their many funny antics. He also took a sincere interest in my pet portraits wanting to know what I was painting and all about each pet.
Uncle Val would love to cook “real Italian” dishes, as he called it, with macaroni (not pasta), fish and topped with gravy (old Italians never called it sauce!). My family and I went to his house for dinner many times and it was always a delicious meal. We had to bring a big appetite as he would always say what his mother used to say “Mange, Mange! You are too skinny!”
I would like to thank everyone for coming to his memorial service today. I’m sure he will be missed by all of you, but especially by my sister and me.
We love you, Uncle Val! I look forward to more hugs from you in heaven!

Memorial Letter from Loretta:

My name is Loretta and I’m Val’s oldest niece. I live in Florida and unfortunately not able to be here today but I do want to thank each and every one of you for being here to celebrate my Uncles life. He would be honored to know that you were able to be here.
Growing up I remember my Uncle as being a happy person. He had a Mother Stella, sister Jean and brother Rocky who he loved very much. He was the youngest sibling and was always considered the “kid brother” no matter how old he got.
Uncle Val served in Korea so we didn’t see much of him when we were real young but there were a couple of amusing memories I have of him that will always stick with me which I’d like to share with you. Occasionally my Grandmother would babysit my sister Pat and I and on one occasion my Uncle offered to take us to the movies. I think we were about 7 and 10 years old. Being so young and we didn’t go to the movies much back then so we got excited to go. Uncle Val didn’t have a car then so we all took the bus to the movies. He was as excited to take us as we were excited to go. When we got to the theater he bought us ice cream bon bons and took us to our seats. My sister and I were really looking forward to the movie to start. Well, it started but certainly wasn’t what anyone of us expected. Not only was the movie a foreign film in another language (PG rated of course) it had subtitles which we couldn’t read because it was fast and we were very young. He thought it was some kind of kids film and got us more bon bons to make up for it. My parents weren’t exactly pleased but no harm done. He really thought he was making us happy and had good intentions however, needless to say that was the first and last time we went to the movies with him.
Another distinct memory which is hard to forget is when my Dad was building a patio trellis and asked Uncle Val to dig a hole for one of the posts Uncle Val always jumped to help out when he was needed. He told him to find him when he was done so they could move on. I remember my Dad wondering what was taking him so long so he went to look for him and we went with him. Well, Uncle Val dug the hole but it had to be 8 ft deep and he was standing in it..it was taller than him! My Dad freaked out and said why did you dig this hole so deep and he said “no one told me to stop”. The way he said it though was so innocent and the look of shock on my Dads face had us all cracked up. He did eventually have to fill it back up with a little help but he was a good sport. He never hesitated to help out any of our neighbors too when it came to back breaking work. He was just like that.
There is a quote from William Shakespeare which reads “Cowards die many times before their deaths, the valiant never taste of death” which I think describes Uncle Val perfectly. In the recent past he has suffered many adversities. He endured them valiantly and was never a coward. He fought hard and knew he would have a positive outcome. Like his sister who passed before him, he was like the energizer bunny..he just kept going and going and going and we were the better for it. I am going to miss the wonderful conversations we had. He always asked about the family..how everyone was doing..how my kids and Grandkids were getting along and was happy to receive get well cards from the Grandkids even though they never knew him. He updated me on his latest decoration he was adding to him room and always felt embarrassed about asking for more stars for his room or decorations for his tree. It made me feel good to make him happy in such a small way. Sometimes he would mention a new lady friend or a show he had participated in. He sounded happy. He would always end his conversation with “I love you” and “God Bless you.” I will miss those words from him.
Uncle Val, thank you for bringing smiles and joy to our lives. We will love and miss you always. Please give hugs to the rest of the family.