Thomas P. Lavinio Of Southampton Dies March 16

Thomas P. Lavinio of Southampton died on March 16, after a decline in his health due to Alzheimer’s disease. He was 87 and died at home with his wife and daughter at his side.

Mr. Lavinio was born in 
Southampton on September 26, 1927, to Josephine (Maiorano) and Stephen Lavinio of Meeting House Lane. He graduated from Southampton High School in 1945 and then enlisted in the U.S. Navy.

Before enlisting, he was keenly fascinated with aviation. His interest was further developed after receiving flight training while serving with the Naval Air Force and later with the Naval Reserve. A longtime member of the East Hampton Aviation Association, he served for many years as the group’s president and was a strong and vocal advocate for pilots based at East Hampton Airport.

Mr. Lavinio was the owner/operator of Lavinio Pools until his retirement.

He was a member of the Basilica Parish of Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Church. 
His father had worked on the building of the church, and later Mr. Lavinio used his own expertise as a master stone mason when the church underwent a major restoration under Monsignor Edmond Trench’s In Nomine Domini project.

Mr. Lavinio was predeceased by three brothers and a sister, as well as a son, Thomas P. Lavinio Jr., who died in 1972. 
He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Joan Giering Lavinio; daughters, Mary O’Connor of Southampton and Virginia, Elizabeth Lavinio of Southampton and Maine, and Margaret Saurenman of Southampton and Missouri; and a son, Stephen (Hook) Lavinio of Southampton; as well as grandchildren, William, Christopher and Joani Lavinio, Cornelia and Anna O’Connor, and Hanna Saurenman.

A funeral Mass, with arrangements by O’Connell Funeral Home, was held at the Basilica Parish of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary; burial was at the church cemetery.

Memorial donations may be made to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary In Nomine Domini Fund, 168 Hill Street, Southampton, NY 11968, or the East Hampton Aviation Association’s scholarship fund, Box 623, Wainscott, NY 11975.