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Joseph J. Raia
Joseph Raia of Trumbull, Connecticut, died at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on Saturday, November 10. He was 98.
Born in 1914 in Brooklyn, he was the second of nine children, and had five sisters and three brothers who survived to adulthood out of the 13 children born to Anna Guzzardo Raia and Filippo Raia.
On July 5, 1936 in Brooklyn he married Carmella DiChiraro, who survives him and is the second of three daughters born to Rosa Occhiogrosso DiChiaro and Pietro DiChiaro. Mr. Raia’s first job was at the National Can Company in Brooklyn. In 1944, he became a machinist working as a federal employee at the Naval Clothing Depot in Brooklyn.
Although his three brothers, Willie, Santo and Tommy, were drafted, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy when he was 30 years old because he wanted to defend his country. He was at that time married with two children. He was assigned to amphibious forces in the Pacific Theatre and Australia, serving as engine man on ships delivering invasion troops to the islands. He survived the bombing of three successive ships in one week. In each instance, he and his fellow crewmen tread water for hours among circling sharks until they were recovered. Injured during the bombardment of Borneo, he was awarded the Asiatic Pacific ribbon with 1 star, the Philippine Liberation ribbon, the American Theatre ribbon, and the Victory ribbon. He was honorably discharged in 1946.
Upon his return, he joined the Naval Reserves and went to work at the New York Naval Shipyard in Brooklyn, where ships were still being built. He was reactivated during the Korean War and was stationed on the USS Calvert as a motor machinist’s mate third class. He received an honorable discharge from the U.S. Navy in 1951.
He was commended for outstanding service rendered in connection with the USS Constellation fire on December 19, 1960, at the naval shipyard. As a leading man machinist in the boiler room, he performed valuable support services in minimizing the tragedy that took 50 lives that day and caused multiple injuries. He barely escaped with his own life. After the war, the couple bought a house on Main Street in Flushing, where they added two more children, a boy and a girl, to the two children they already had.
Mr. Raia became an engineering technician working for the Federal Aviation Administration, maintaining landing and approach lights at John F. Kennedy Airport and in Brooklyn. When he retired from the FAA after 41 years of government service, he and his wife moved to Trumbull, Connecticut, to live with their youngest daughter and where he applied his mechanical genius to the domestic arena, to the delight of family and friends.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by his children, Ann Colaneri of Rye, Philip Raia and Judy Kemp of Florida, Dr. Peter Raia and his wife Stavroula of Southampton, and Rose DeVita and her husband Gene of Trumbull; eight grandchildren, John Colaneri of California, Jessica Raia-Long of Florida, Jane Brown of Southampton, Jean Baker of Florida, Joseph Raia of Southampton, Nicholas DeVita and Allegra DeVita of Trumbull and Christopher Raia of Southampton; seven great-granchildren, Steven, Zachary, Gabriel, Tommy, Gina, John and Payton. He is also survived by his youngest sister, Mary Guarisco of East Islip; a sister-in-law Harriet Raia of Mt. Sinai; and many nieces and nephews.
A funeral Mass was held on Friday, November 16, at St. Jude Roman Catholic Church in Monroe, Connecticut. Interment is at Calverton National Cemetery. Online condolences may be left at www.spadaccinofuneralhome.com.
on Nov 18, 2012