Joseph F. Periconi Jr. & Family

Joseph's Family


Joseph F. Periconi, 1959	Married 2 August 1936	Rosemary Periconi, 1959

This is pretty close to the story of the 'girl next door'. Actually it is the story of the girl across the street and a 'pencil sharpener'. I will get back to the pencil sharperner a little later on. It is hoped that this presentation will give the essence of this couple and how they effected the lives of those they came in contact with, starting with but not limited to their four children. As with Ross and Mary Scovotti, this material is intended to give those who have just arrived, like Mattea Rosalie, who was born on the 9th of November 2001, a chance to get to know her great grandfather, who is no longer with us, and to supplement some information about her great grandmother.

The history of Joe and Rose, as they have always been called by friends and relatives, is not an easy one to tell. They both came from hard working Italian immigrant parents, who had very little. They lived through a depression and a war. They lived through a time in this countries medical history that a goodly percentage of children would not live past childhood because of illnesses that today have been eliminated. The concept of education was even primative and was intended for the male population. There existed at that time the theory that women were to stay at home to be homemakers and therefore didn't need an education. I guess Rose never heard that story!

Italian families believed in family taking care of family. Though the concept shouldn't seem foreign to anyone, it isn't practiced to a big degree today. Scrouge, in A Christmas Carol, said when visited by one of the spirits of Christmas past, aren't there anymore work houses......... this was a question he presented when asked for a donation to help the poor during a Christmas season. Today, it seems, we say aren't there any more 'attended living places' for those in the family that can't take care of themselves! During the early part of the 20th century this wouldn't be accepable. If you read Mary Scovotti's autobiographical sketch, you might have remembered that Mary took in her siblings, after she herself was married and had started her own family. Mary had five children that lived passed childhood, and she was the oldest of ten. According to my figuring, there could have been 14 children and two adults under her roof at any one time. I am not saying this condition existed for a many years, but I am sure there were many nights where the roof covered all 16. There was food and love to go around, but I am sure not much else.

There aren't many pictures of Joe and Rose until their late teen and early twenties. The following two pictures, taken by their respective families, showing the two of them preparing for their first communion.


Joseph's First Communion.	Rosemary's First Communion.

YOUTH PICTURES EACH TOOK SEPARATE WILL GO HERE........

Getting back to the courtship. At one time they both worked at the same company before getting serious. They also lived across the street from each other at this time in their lives. Remember the pencil sharpner! Joe had some need to sharpen his pencils. Knowing there was a good pencil sharpner across the street, at Rose's house, Joe started asking permission of Ross to sharpen his pencils at his house. Well I am sure there is more to this story, but I think you get the idea. When the relationship was getting more serious, Rose insisted that Joe continue his education. She believed very strongly in education. In time, Joseph Periconi received his law degree.

Some years after marrying, Joe was called into the US Army. He was in his thirties, but it wasn't unusal at that time to call men beyond their twenties as long as they were able. The following are a few of the military pictures that were saved.


All these pictures were taken at Fort Fisher.	Fort Fisher is located in North Carolina.


The 4 pictures were marked 1944.	Possibly an anti-aircraft gun ?

By the end of 1945, Joseph completed his military obligation and was the father of two boys and so was now ready to conquer the world. Joseph had many accomplishments during his life time. I don't feel it is my place to pick and choose, and so I am going to use an outline of achievements that was prepared at the time of his funeral in 1994.
State and City Government Services: Counsel to the New York State Senate Committee on Affairs of the City of New York during 1946 and 1947 Legislative Sessions. Deputy Commissioner of the New York State Liquor Authority from December, 1947 to December, 1952. Elected and served as State Senator during the years 1953 and 1954. Counsel to the Joint Legislative Committee on Charitable and Philanthropic Agencies and Organizations durint 1955 and 1956 Legislative Sessions. Elected and served as State Senator during the years 1957, 1958, 1959, and 1960. While serving in the State Senate, was a member of numerous committees and Chairman of General Laws Committee; Chairman, Joint Legislative Committee on Charitable and Philanthropic Agencies and Organizations; Vice Chairman, Joint Legislative Committee on Matrimonial and Family Affairs; Vice Chairman, Joint Legislative Committee on Privacy of Communications. Appointed by Governor Rockefeller in April, 1960 as a member of the New York Transit Authority. Elected and served as the President of the Borough of the Bronx - 1962 to 1965. Appointed by Mayor Lindsay as the Commissioner of Sanitation for year 1966 and as Assistant to the Mayor from 1967 to May, 1969. Appointed by Governor Rockefeller as Assistant to the Governor - May, 1969. Legal: Admitted to the New York State Bar November 1, 1942. Admitted to practice before the United States Board of Immigration Appeals and the Immigration and Naturalization Service, June 27, 1946; the United States District Court, Southern District, December 20, 1946; and the Supreme Court of the United States of America January 21, 1959. Member of Panel of Arbitrators of the New Jersey Board of Mediation. Presently a member of the Bronx County Bar Association; Mt. Vernon Bar Association; Guild of Catholic Lawyers; President, New York Law School Alumni Association. Member of the law firm of Periconi & Lyman, Esqs. from 1953 to 1960. Presently a member of the law firm of Alberi, Periconi, and ALberi, Esqs. 100 Stevens Avenue, Mt. Vernon, New York. Civic, Charitable, Member and Trustee of many Civic, Charitable and Educational and Veteran Organizations; Director, Washington Heights Organizational Federal Savings & Loan Association; Trustee of the Affiliations: French and Polyclinic Medical School and Health Center; Secretary of the New York City USO; Chairman Emeritus of the Board of the Gramercy Boys Club; Trustee of the Rhodes School Scholarship Foundation; YMCA; Boys Scouts; National Conference of Christians and Jews; the Cardinal's Committee of the Laity; New York State Senate Club and the Governor's Club; Chairman of the Mayor's Council on Adoption. Honors and Citations: Recipient of numerous awards and citations by Boys Clubs; Boy Scouts of America; Little Leagues; Civic and Charitable Organizations; U.S.O.; Veterans Groups; Italian Government; Boys' Town of Italy; Inter-Faith Groups.


The house was stucco finished when we lived there.	It was a small 2 bedroom home,though it did seem bigger then!

Rose and Joe lived at this home from about the mid 1940's until the later part of the 1950's when the family moved to its current location, only a few miles away. Its's said that a picture is worth a thousand words, and so to save some typing, lets see how the following works out......


Pictures of the events above will go here.	Pictures of the events above will go here.


Pictures of the events above will go here.	Pictures of the events above will go here.


Pictures of the events above will go here.	Pictures of the events above will go here.


Pictures of the events above will go here.	Pictures of the events above will go here.


Pictures of the events above will go here.	Pictures of the events above will go here.