Joseph Finamore, Sr., a Brooklyn-born World War II combat veteran who worked as an ironworker on the Brooklyn Bridge, was buried Thursday at St. Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale, Long Island. He was 100.
Finamore died the previous Saturday in Florida, according to the Daily News. He was born on Front Street in the neighborhood now known as DUMBO, and grew up reading the Daily News when the paper cost a nickel.
As a retired riveter, Finamore worked on multiple city structures, including skyscrapers, the Pan Am hangar at John F. Kennedy International Airport, and the Brooklyn Bridge, the Daily News reported. He served in Germany during the war before returning home to a career in ironwork.
“Even though he lived to be 100 we still don’t think it was long enough,” his son Joseph Finamore Jr. told the Daily News by phone.
Finamore was a lifelong New York sports fan. He was present for Jackie Robinson’s first game at Ebbets Field, and one of his greatest regrets, his son told the Daily News, was not saving the ticket stub. After the Dodgers left Brooklyn, he became a Yankees fan, though his son said he supported all New York teams, including the Mets. He was honored for his military service during a 2022 Mets game at Citi Field, the Daily News reported.
His obituary described him as someone who “lived a life marked by faith, dedication to family, and character,” according to the Daily News. He played softball before taking up golf in his early 80s and kept at it until around 95, and also enjoyed bowling and billiards. The obituary said he enjoyed spending time with family and friends in Bayville, N.J.
“My grandfather was a great man and the foundation of our family,” his grandson Matt Finamore said in an email to the Daily News. “He lived a proud, long life and has given us all many fond memories. I only wish we could have made more.”
Finamore was married twice. He is survived by a daughter, two sons, nine grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
Featured image: Courtesy of Family)
