Concetta Mangione Prisco (1921-2020)

A few months shy of her ninety-ninth birthday, Concetta (Mangione) Prisco, grandmother and great-grandmother of Whiting residents, died Monday, May 4, 2020, of COVID-19 complications at Mamaroneck, New York. She had been a resident of the New Jewish Home long term care facility in that Westchester County municipality.

George and Concetta Prisco

Concetta "Connie" was born Maria Concetta Mangione to Liborio and Emma (Arnetta) Mangione, Sicilian immigrants, in Manhattan, New York, on August 5, 1921. (Baptismal records from St. Lucy's Church on East 104th Street place her birth on August 2, 1921.*) Brother Vincent "Sonny" was born in June 1925, and brother Joseph was born four years later. The family's early homes were in Italian East Harlem: first with Liborio's parents Vincenzo and Maria (Capizzi) Mangione at 344 East 105th Street and later at 225 East 108th Street.

1973 passport photo

Her later childhood appears to have been spent with relatives in the Little Italy neighborhood in the Bronx, New York, while her parents and brothers continued to live in Manhattan. Concetta graduated from the Industrial Course of Study of Junior High School No. 45 in the Bronx on January 25, 1938.

Concetta married George M. Prisco, who had been raised in the Mount Eden section of the Bronx and had relatives in East Harlem, on February 3, 1940, at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. The ceremony was performed by the Rev. Aldo Carniato, with Alfonso and Antonetta Prisco serving as witnesses.

Concetta's father Liborio died at Manhattan Metropolitan Hospital at the age of fifty-two on May 2, 1942.

Concetta with grandson Thomas Hunt

George and Concetta Prisco lived initially with George's widowed mother (his father Salvatore died in 1924), Carolina Prisco, at 2315 Hughes Avenue in the Bronx. About the time of Carolina's 1942 death, they moved to 3341 Paulding Avenue. In the early 1950s, they moved again to 808 Adee Avenue, their longtime home. They raised their family in a top-floor apartment (6C) of the six-story building, with Concetta's mother Emma Mangione living next door (6C-A). For a time, much of the Prisco-Mangione clan resided in two apartment buildings diagonally across the intersection of Adee Avenue and Matthews Avenue.

In addition to her family responsibilities, Concetta worked outside the home, holding a position with Al's Camera Shop in the Bronx.

Home in New Fairfield

George and Concetta Prisco built a vacation home for themselves in New Fairfield, Connecticut, between Connecticut's Ball Pond and New York's Putnam Lake. It was a long-term project. From modest beginnings, the home expanded dramatically over the years. With their children raised, George and Concetta turned the New Fairfield home into their full-time residence in the late 1970s.

Concetta's mother Emma passed away in August 1978 at the age of eighty-six.

Concetta loved to cook for family and friends ("arancini" rice balls, cream puff pastries, "pignoli" cookies...) and regularly made presents of her latest kitchen creations. She also enjoyed gardening and games of chance. She often hosted family get-togethers and took great interest in her grandchildren (who still recall her singing a rendition of "See Saw, Knock on the Door..."). She was a longtime member of St. Edward the Confessor Church in New Fairfield and the New Fairfield Senior Center.

Following the February 2006 death of her husband, Concetta moved to an apartment off Orchard Street in northern Brookfield, Connecticut.

Carol Andreana, Concetta Prisco, Emma Mangione with Cristina Andreana

She is survived by three daughters - Concetta Hunt (the late Patrick) of Orlando, Florida; Caroline Andreana (Joseph) of Stamford, Connecticut; Emily Schmetterer (Jerry) of New York, New York - and daughters-in-law Marilyn Prisco of Las Vegas, Nevada, and Debby K. Prisco of Bronx, New York. She also is survived by ten grandchildren, residing in Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, New Jersey, New York and Vermont; great-grandchildren; nieces and nephews. Her oldest grandson, Thomas Hunt, and his family have been Whiting, Vermont, residents since spring 2012.

In addition to her husband, Concetta was predeceased by her son George, Jr., and her brother Vincent. Her brother Joseph passed away a few days after her death.

Burial was scheduled for May 18, 2020, at St. Raymond's Cemetery in the Bronx. Bosak Funeral Home, 453 Shippan Avenue, in Stamford, Connecticut, handled funeral arrangements.


* Confusion on the date reported for her birth could have resulted from the birthdates of her parents. Liborio Mangione's birthday was August 5 and Emma Mangione's was August 2.

Patrick Hunt, 73, of Brookfield CT

WHITING - Patrick J. Hunt, 73, of Brookfield, CT, died Aug. 30 in Danbury, CT, Hospital following a long illness. He was the father, father-in-law and grandfather of residents of Whiting, VT. 

Patrick and Thomas Hunt in 1965.

Patrick was born March 8, 1941, in New York City the second son of the late Patrick and Mary (Foley) Hunt, immigrants from Ireland. As a boy, he traveled twice to Ireland in the company of his mother. He graduated in 1959 from Mount Saint Michael Academy in the Bronx, NY. He received a bachelor's degree in Math from Manhattan College in 1963. He and his childhood sweetheart, Concetta M. Prisco, were married at the Roman Catholic Church of St. Lucy in the Bronx on Jan. 26, 1963. He was employed by Metropolitan Life Insurance Company for many years and retired as a director in the company's home office in 1998.

He was a longtime resident of Adee Avenue in the Bronx and parishioner of the Church of St. Lucy, where he served as lector. He and his family subsequently lived on Middle River Road in Danbury, CT, and on Francis Drive in Belle Mead, NJ. After retirement, he and his family moved to Perry Drive in southern New Milford, CT. Patrick and his wife moved to Brookfield's Newbury Village in 2011.

A devoted husband, father and grandfather, Patrick is remembered for his genial nature and his hearty laugh. His hobbies included golf, bowling, art, woodworking, crossword puzzles and stamp collecting. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus.

He is survived by his wife and by their three children: son Thomas P. Hunt of Whiting, VT; daughter Theresa C. Krokovich of Oviedo, FL; and son Patrick J. Hunt, Jr., of Orlando, FL. He also is survived by eight grandchildren. He was predeceased by his parents and his brother John Hunt. In addition to Thomas P. Hunt, his Whiting resident survivors include daughter-in-law Anna M. (Oldakowski) Hunt and grandchildren Tori, Alex and Francis Hunt.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Our Lady of the Lakes Church in New Milford, CT, with burial at Central Cemetery in Brookfield, CT.

Patrick and Concetta Hunt with grandchildren Tori, Alex and Francis Hunt in 2008.

Dick Breen, 87, educator, of Brandon

State health officials have identified the first Vermont resident to die from Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) as retired educator Dick Breen, 87, of Brandon, WCAX-TV reported.. Breen was longtime director of the Vermont Principals Association. He lived on an emu farm in Brandon that experienced a serious outbreak of EEE among its livestock last September. Nineteen of the birds died from the virus.

Breen was diagnosed with the virus last Thursday. He was hospitalized. He died at Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington on Tuesday.

The Vermont Department of Health has scheduled an aerial insecticide spraying in the Whiting-Brandon area to combat the mosquito populations that transmit the EEE and West Nile viruses.

One dead of EEE, mosquito spraying to begin

The Vermont Health Department says one of two patients in the state diagnosed with Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) has died, according to reports in the Burlington Free Press and the Rutland Herald. Additional details about the patient were not made available. EEE and West Nile are two deadly viruses spread to humans by mosquito bites.

The Health Department plans to begin aerial spraying of insecticides in the Brandon-Whiting area tomorrow (Thursday) night. Ground spraying has already begin.

The aerial spraying of Anvil insecticide (Sumithrin) will be conducted between 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. in two four-mile-by-four-mile squares, according to the Rutland Herald. One of the squares will cross Route 30 between Cornwall and Whiting (centered on Stickney Road). The other will be along nearly all of Grove Street in Leicester and Brandon.

The Health Department advises residents to stay indoors during the spraying and for about 30 minutes afterward. Doors and windows should be closed and air conditioners should be turned off during that period. If Anvil spray comes in contact with eyes, rinse immediately with water. Exposed skin should be washed. Exposed clothing should be washed separately from other clothing. Pet food and water bowls should be brought indoors.