Obituary of Joseph T. Manno

Joseph Manno A Quiet Man A quiet man passed away on 12/4/13. He died, as he lived, without fuss or fanfare, believing in God, country and family values. Joseph Manno was born, at home, in Brooklyn NY on 11/12/21. His parents, Vincent & Annuziata (Nancy), welcomed him as the second son born to them. Seven sons would be born, only four survived infancy - Paul, Joseph, Thomas and Frank. All predeceased him. He had a normal childhood, remembering dirt roads and horse drawn carriages. He developed a love for baseball and the Brooklyn Dodgers (Dem Bums) and saw many of the greats play at Brooklyn's Ebbets Field. His favorite was Gil Hodges. He switched his allegiance to the NY Mets when the Dodgers left town. He was, also, a lifelong University of Notre Dame football fan. He rarely spoke about WW II; but, what was known was that he was a cryptographer, serving primarily in France and Belgium. After the war, he returned home to Brooklyn, where he married the love of his life -Olympia (Peg) Firneno. They remained happily married, almost 60 years, until her death in 2006. They had one child, Kathryn, with whom he taught his beliefs and shared his love of classical music. Newly married, he pursued his dream of becoming an architectural designer by working days and attending night courses at Pratt Institute in NY. He graduated and with that cherished degree, in hand, worked for several prestigious architectural and engineering firms in NY and NJ. One of his crowning achievements was being part of a large team that worked on the Lincoln Center Opera House in NYC. Even though, his expertise was large office buildings, he designed three residences, two of which, he and his family lived. The last residence was designed and built when he was in his 70's and he considered it his "dream house". Yes, he was a quiet man and he died, as he lived, without fuss or fanfare; but, he was loved and will be missed by many. Joseph's Life Celebration will include visitation on Friday, December 6th from 4:00 to 8:00 pm at Martin Funeral Home, 1761 Route 31, Clinton, NJ. There will be a funeral mass on Saturday, December 7th at 9:30 am at St. Catherine of Siena RC Church, 2 White Bridge Road, Pittstown, NJ. Interment will immediately follow at Somerset Hills Memorial Park in Basking Ridge, NJ.