Obituary of Carmine Richard "Dick" Polzello

Carmine Richard (Dick) Polzello, age 85, of Venice, FL, Connecticut, and Vermont depending on his mood, passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday, October 10, 2023. Born on December 4, 1937 in Rutland, Vermont, he was the beloved husband of Lena (Quesnel) Polzello and son of the late Paschal Polzello and Mary (Accorsi) Polzello.

A 1955 graduate of Mount Saint Joseph Academy in Rutland, VT where he had many accomplishments including: president of his graduating class, captain of the men's basketball team, played baseball and football, was a member of student council, and wrote for the Clarion. Dick was one of only two students selected to represent the state of Vermont at Boys Nation in Washington, DC where he met President Eisenhower. Dick was an accomplished saxophone and clarinet player and played in several local bands. His father drove him back and forth from VT to NY so he could be taught by Sigurd Raschèr the famed saxophonist.

Dick graduated Middlebury College in 1959 where he was also captain of the men's basketball team, a member of Delta Upsilon and ROTC. That led him to the U.S. Army where he served six years as a paratrooper and in various logistics and support roles. He was stationed in Berlin during the 1961 Berlin Wall crisis and achieved the rank of Captain.

In 1964 he left the Army and joined Pfizer, Inc. after declining an offer to join the FBI. At Pfizer he worked his way up through various distribution and logistics assignments. In 1969 he moved over to Bristol Meyers and worked in increasingly elevated positions that eventually led to him becoming the vice president of information and distribution services of the Clairol division. In 1979 he was elected to serve as president of the board of Family and Children's Services of Stamford, CT, a charitable organization. In 1981 Dick joined Joseph E. Seagram & Son in Manhattan as vice president of Administration. In 1987 he left Seagram and purchased Park City Packaging, Inc. in Stratford, CT where his hard work, experience, and force of will, allowed him to successfully grow the company from one location to four in several states.

He was an avid and skilled golfer his whole life despite having to rework his game after a serious injury to his fingers in a mid-life accident nearly severed them. He was a member, and served as president, of Brooklawn Country Club in Fairfield, CT, a place he revered and had countless friends. An excellent fly fisherman, Dick spent as much time as he could knee deep in Furnace Brook in VT and several other rivers and streams, and was always at his happiest streamside in the woods pursuing trout. He always made sure those around him were aware of the current water levels and their impact on his fishing. Dick always made sure to share his catch with those he convinced to allow him onto their posted land. A quietly generous man, he supported countless students at Mount Saint Joseph Academy, many charities, and those in need around him.

A lifelong Yankees and NY Giants fans Dick always kept up with the scores, players and machinations of Mr. Steinbrenner. He was a lover of birds and always had a pair of binoculars handy to observe them in the sanctuaries he had established at his properties. Dick was an avid reader and loved books on history and especially conservative politics as those on his email chain well know.

Dick lived a full and successful life filled with boundless laughs, friends and family. He loved a joke and had an incredible ability to pull in anyone with his quick wit. As he told his grandchildren, "Kids, there's nothing better than fun."

In addition to his beloved wife of 64 years, Lena, his survivors include his four loving children, daughters Lori Polzello, Lisa Polzello, son Rick Polzello and his wife Elizabeth, youngest daughter Stephanie Polzello, three cherished grandchildren, Owen, Sarah and Joseph Polzello, his younger sister, Joan Nelson, as well as many nieces, nephews, cousins, friends and colleagues. He was predeceased by his sister, Patricia Holub.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Tuesday, October 17, 2023 at 10:30 a.m. directly in Our Lady of the Assumption Church, 545 Stratfield Rd., Fairfield. Entombment will follow in Oak Lawn Cemetery, Fairfield. Relatives and friends may greet the family on Monday from 4 – 7 p.m. in the Abriola Parkview Funeral Home, 419 White Plains Rd., Trumbull, CT.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer's Association https://www.alz.org/ in support of a cause dear to him.