Obituary of Frank J. Ferrigno
Frank Joseph ”Francesco Giuseppe” Ferrigno, of Glastonbury, CT passed away Friday, February 7, 2025 at the age of 96. His children were with him.
Born March 16,1928 in New London, CT, Frank was the eldest son of Mary Orlando Ferrigno and Joseph Ferrigno who had emigrated from Sicily as children. Frank attended Chapman Technical High School in New London. He graduated from M.I.T. in 1950 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering.
Frank served in the Army from 1950 – 1952, stationed at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, AL, where he worked on guided missiles and small rockets during the Korean War.
While stationed in Huntsville, Frank met and married Barbara Burtram. They were married for 62 years and enjoyed trips to England and Italy together.
Frank was a man of many skills. He held several interesting jobs, including Ground Support Equipment engineer at Grumman Aircraft, where he worked on the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM), and Research Engineer for the Naval Supersonic Lab at M.I.T., United Aircraft and Sperry Gyroscope.
Frank also had a variety of interests. He was quite musical. He performed as “Little Frankie” in vaudeville shows in New London as a young child, singing and dancing with his sisters. He began playing ukulele while in the army and was one of the founding members of the Glastonbury Ukulele Band. He enjoyed practicing and performing with the band, also playing the harmonica with the band until his last year. He loved telling stories of growing up in New London during the Depression, the Hurricane of 1938 and World War II.
Frank was an avid reader. Science, history and oceanography were his favorite subjects. He went to the library weekly, brought home a stack of books and read them all. He was also a lifelong learner. Wherever he lived, he took courses at local colleges well into his eighties.
He was predeceased by his wife, Barbara Ferrigno, his sisters Mary Grace Andriewicz, Johanna Ferrigno Miskill, and his brother Maurice Ferrigno. He is survived by his son, Frank Ferrigno, daughter, Anna Ferrigno and her husband, Peter, his granddaughters, Nina Marie Ward, Vanessa Ferrigno Ward, Angela Ferrigno Ward and his great-granddaughter, Gianna Mack.
Burial will be private at Holy Cross Cemetery in Glastonbury. For online condolences, please visit www.mulryanfh.com.