Obituary of Vincent Nicholas Pugliese

Vincent Nicholas Pugliese, 67, a long-time resident of Glastonbury, CT, died on Sunday, March 1, 2020 in Boynton Beach, FL surrounded by his wife and loving family. He had been diagnosed with Glioblastoma 6 months earlier. Vince was born to Vincenzo and Concetta Pugliese on May 21, 1952 in Newburgh, NY. His parents, having emigrated from Italy, taught him the value of hard work and education, along with culinary skills and a love for cooking. He graduated in 1974 from SUNY Buffalo with a BS in Civil Engineering and began working at Aetna in Boston. This was the beginning of a very long and successful career in the insurance industry that saw him retire as the Senior VP and Chief Underwriting & Marketing Officer of W.R. Berkley Corp. It was also at Aetna that he would meet the love of his life, Janet, with whom he shared 38 happy years of marriage and had three beloved children – Vincent, Nicole and Zachary. He was a loving husband and father who enjoyed bringing people together with home-cooked meals, and especially laughter. Vince’s quick-witted and improvisational sense of humor was truly unmatched. He loved to tell jokes and entertain everyone around him with his spontaneous songs, characters, and impersonations. This was his most resilient and memorable quality; he exuded confidence and liveliness with his ability to make an entire room laugh. Vince’s other pastimes included cooking, reading, woodworking, gardening, and socializing with anyone and everyone. In addition to his wife and three children, Vince is survived by his two brothers, Saverio (Patricia) of Buffalo NY, Anthony (Sandra) of Toronto, Canada, his sister Costantina (Alfredo) Rivera of Newburgh, NY, and many nieces and nephews. A Celebration of Life that was scheduled to be held at 10:30 am on Saturday, March 21 at the Glastonbury Hills Country Club (239 Country Club Road, So. Glastonbury, CT) will now be rescheduled to a later date to be determined. Please bring all your smiles and stories as we honor his amazing life and spirit. In lieu of flowers, please make charitable donations to the Glioblastoma Foundation on the following website: https://glioblastomafoundation-remember-honor.everydayhero.com/us/vince-pugliese. For convenience, use the shortened link: tinyurl.com/vnpugliese.