Joaquin Valentine Borsellino

Joaquin Valentine Borsellino (Jack), Colonel U.S. Army (retired), a 99 year old veteran of the 2nd Army, Chemical Corp, and World War II, and the oldest of six brothers and sisters, died June 18, 2014 in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Formerly of Lawrenceville New Jersey and Marco Island, Florida, he is predeceased by his wives Mary Sardo (1963) and Frances Regis (2008). Jack had an intense loyalty to his Family and to his Country which lasted throughout his lifetime. Having dropped out of high school at thirteen to support his parents and family as a laborer during the Great Depression, he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1942 and was assigned to the 36th Infantry Division. He graduated from the Army Command and General Staff College and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the Chemical Corp, he served in France, Luxembourg, Germany, Belgium and the Pacific, retiring as a Colonel USAR. He commanded a smoke generator battalion in WWII supporting the D-Day invasion force, while his brother Joe (deceased) served with the US Marines surviving multiple charges up Sugarloaf on Okinawa, and his brother William (deceased) served on board a destroyer in the pacific seeing action as a radar man. His youngest brother Louis (aka “Buzz” deceased) served during Korea. His sisters Anna (deceased) and Jean also served as nurses stateside. Jack happily volunteered to transfer to the Pacific after VE day to serve ship-board in Operation Crossroads, the Atomic bomb tests. After the war he returned to Brooklyn, and while working in a dye factory, put himself through night school, earning a B.S. degree in chemical engineering from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, NY. He obtained employment with Princeton University Frick labs and later with Thiokol Chemical Corporation, where he developed and holds several patents in the then emerging field of flame resistant elastomers and adhesive seal compound development and application. As a marketing manager he was instrumental in opening the rubber market for many new and still used auto and rocket applications in the heyday of the space program, cold war and of the burgeoning US auto industry, before retiring in 1977 and relocating to Marco Island, Florida. He was a member of the American Chemical Society, The Society of Plastics Engineers, and several other professional and military associations. He maintained an incisive, caring and thoughtful demeanor to the end and was an avid reader and history buff. He also maintained himself physically by swimming laps each and every day, despite severely crippled knees and advancing age, and he and those he loved struggled daily with his loss of hearing and parkinsons. He took an active interest in his brothers, sisters, son and grandchildren’s well being to the end, particularly his youngest brother “Buzz”. He is survived by his youngest sibling, Jean, his son Lewis and his children, Michael and Lisa, and many nephews, nieces and extended family in the US and Australia. His last thought, in his own words, was of his beloved Country and family. “I have always tried to do what I considered my duty to my Country and my family. I loved my family above all else, they were my world. I could not have asked for more. There is nothing else to say, when it’s time to say goodbye, then my day is done. My love and best wishes to all. Many Happy Returns of the Day”. Thank You Dad! We Love You. Rest in Peace. His service will be private. Burial will be at Long Island National Cemetery, Farmingdale, LI, NY. Donations in lieu of flowers are requested to be sent to the Cadbury Library Fund, Cadbury, 2150 Rt. 38, Cherry Hill, NJ 08002. To post photos, share a memory or send an online condolence, please visit www.inglesbyfuneralhome.com.

Joaquin Valentine Borsellino

February 28, 1915 - June 18, 2014