Joseph A. Gagliardo Jr. Of Southampton Dies March 17

Joseph A. Gagliardo Jr. Of Southampton died on March 17. He was 89.

Mr. Gagliardo was born to Joseph A. Gagliardo Sr and Frances (nee Vetere) on May 30, 1931 in Brooklyn.

Mr. Gagliardo served his country during the Korean War, where he was posted in Germany. He played on intra-service baseball teams, often against major league players fulfilling their military commitments. He was scouted by the Brooklyn Dodgers for his curveball.

He has long been associated with Southampton and North Sea, vacationing since his youth in the 1930s and moving permanently there in 1965.

Mr. Gagliardo enjoyed walking, swimming, and traveling. He extensively traveled throughout Europe, his grand trip through Italy — from the Alps to the tip of the boot — being the most notable.

For Mr. Gagliardo, there were never too many churches or cathedrals to visit. He traveled to many pilgrimage sites including Tepec, Mexico; Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Fatima, Portugal; Ephesus, Turkey; Lourdes, France; Czestochowa, Poland; San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy; and, of course, the Vatican. Joe documented his travels by snapping thousands of slides, which he enjoyed viewing and showing off (often to groaning grandkids), his family said.

His interests included music, amassing an impressive vinyl collection, boasting Billie Holiday, Maynard Ferguson, Puccini operas, and Frank Sinatra. In later years, Mr. Gagliardo crafted volumes of scrapbooks, creating collages from photos of landscapes, places of interest, and works of art. He enjoyed viewing his travel slides, watching his family videos, classic movies, track and field, horse racing, and baseball.

He was predeceased by his sister, Rachel Hambel; brother Nick; granddaughter Kimberly Vandam; son-in-law Nick Vandam; and daughter-in-law Lucia Bolletti.

Mr. Gagliardo will always be remembered as a cherished husband for 66 years to Frances, loving dad to his six children, funny grandpa to his 11 grandchildren, and cute great-grandpa to his five great-grandchildren, his family said.

A long time parishioner of Our Lady of Poland RC Church, Mr. Gagliardo remained very devoted to his Catholic faith, attending mass daily. A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at Our Lady of Poland on March 22.

In Mr. Gagliardo’s memory, donations can be made to Our Lady of Poland Church, Catholic Home Care, or East End Hospice.