Bro. Jerome Cincotta, SDB (1923-2013)

Bro. Jerome Cincotta, SDB (1923-2013)

Bro. Jerome “Jerry” Cincotta, SDB, died at Tampa General Hospital in Tampa on Friday morning, Oct. 25, 2013. He was 89 years old, 11 days short of turning 90, and had been hospitalized for a short time after breaking a hip. His director, Fr. Steve Ryan, was with him in his last hours and described his death as peaceful.

Bro. Jerry had resided at the Salesians’ St. Philip the Apostle Residence in Tampa since the fall of 2010.

Jerome Bartholomew Cincotta was born on Nov. 5, 1923, in Brooklyn, the son of Joseph and Mary Cincotta. He was baptized at the family’s parish church, St. Jerome’s in Brooklyn, on Dec. 2, and he was also confirmed there in 1934. He attended the parish grammar school from 1929 to 1937 and Boys High School in Brooklyn from 1937 to 1942.

Following his high school graduation, Jerry served in the U.S. Army during World War II, at least partly in the China-Burma-India theater, and was discharged in 1946. He had suffered an ear injury that considerably damaged his hearing and qualified him as disabled. He also came home with a medal from the Chinese government.

Jerry came to the Salesians at age 32 intending to become a brother. He entered as a candidate at Don Bosco Technical High School in Paterson, N.J., in September 1955, training as an auto mechanic. The following September he entered St. Joseph’s Novitiate in Newton, N.J., and he made his first profession of vows in Ellenville, N.Y., on Sept.8, 1957.

Newly professed Bro. Jerry returned to Don Bosco Tech in Paterson for another year of formation and professional training in 1957-1958, but apparently his future did not lie in auto mechanics. He was sent to the provincial residence in New Rochelle, N.Y., in 1958, where he served for the next 14 years at Salesiana Publishers/Don Bosco Films, among other responsibilities.

In 1972 Bro. Jerry was transferred to Don Bosco Technical High School in Boston as an assistant to the treasurer of the school and religious community. He then served as treasurer of the provincial residence community in New Rochelle from 1975 to 1980.

Bro. Jerry moved to St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Harlem in 1980 as a pastoral and financial assistant and remained there until 1985, when he was posted to St. Agnes Church on Grand Bahama Island for one year, also as a pastoral and financial assistant.

From 1986 to 2010 Bro. Jerry was on the staff of the Marian Shrine-Don Bosco Retreat Center at Stony Point-Haverstraw, N.Y., fulfilling numerous household responsibilities. His declining health led to his move to the Salesian retirement home in Tampa in 2010.

According to former provincial Fr. Jim Heuser, Bro. Jerry’s “deep spirit of prayer, generous spirit of work, and spirit of joy have enlightened his communities.”

Fr. Joe Boenzi of the San Francisco Province recalls that he “got to know Bro. Jerome some 15 years ago when I spent several weeks in your province. During that time I always looked forward to meeting and exchanging ideas and experiences with him. It was one of the highlights of that summer for me.”

Bro. Jerry's funeral was celebrated twice, once in Tampa and once at the Marian Shrine in Haverstraw. He was buried in the province cemetery at Goshen, N.Y., on Nov. 6.