Vincent James Yacovone

Vincent Yacovone, 83, passed away peacefully at home on Thursday, August 2, 2018 surrounded by family. He was a lifelong resident of Springfield and was a son of Antonio and Maria (Longhi) Yacovone. He started working at a young age to help support his family and continued working for the rest of his life to benefit others. Vincent began as a shoe shine boy in downtown Springfield and then picked tobacco in CT. As a young man, he had several other interesting jobs including a pinsetter at local bowling alleys and delivery driver for Delvecchio’s market where he met his wife. He worked for over 47 years for the City of Springfield in the Dept. of Streets and Engineering and retired as a foreman in 2001. He was a certified mason. Vincent never refused any request for help and never asked for anything in return. He spent his free time tinkering with any mechanical item he could get his hands on. His favorites were cars, small motors and key wound clocks. His craftsmanship on anything he attempted was unsurpassed. Vincent lived most his life with Type 1 diabetes which was diagnosed in 1951 at age 17. He received an award from Eli Lilly as a part of a select club to survive over 60 years with Type 1. Vincent will be incredibly missed and will be remembered as being a family man first and foremost.
He is survived by his loving wife of 58 years, Elizabeth (Durkee) Yacovone; his sons Vincent Jr and his wife Linda, and Anthony and his wife Tammy all of Springfield; three grandchildren Holly, Anthony and Allison; one great-grandchild Violet; his brother John Yacovone; his sisters Angelina “Angie” Roblinski, Philomena “Minnie” Flanaghan, and Mary Bennett; along with several nieces and nephews and their families. Besides his parents, Vincent was predeceased by his sister Gelsomina “Josie,” and his brothers Anthony and Ronald.
A celebration of Vincent’s life will begin with visiting hours on Tuesday, August 7th from 4:00-7:00pm at Forastiere Smith Funeral & Cremation on 220 N. Main Street in East Longmeadow. The funeral will be on Wednesday at 8:45am at the funeral home with a Liturgy of Christian Burial at 10:00am in Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in Springfield and burial will follow in Gate of Heaven Cemetery. To express a message of condolence to the family please visit www.forastiere.com