Vincent Richard Martinelli

Vince (or Richard to his close family members) was born in Waterbury CT on January 10th, 1935, surrounded by a loving family.

How can one summarize a life like the one Vince had? Few people have stories and adventures that were better than his! Frequently the sentence “and it really did happen!” was heard after the re-telling of a Vince story occurred between family and/or friends.

Vince began his time away from the northeast by enlisting in the US Air Force and spent his teenage years and young twenties in Florida, attending and graduating from Florida State University, where he was a proud brother of Phi Delta Theta.

Upon completion of his enlistment in the US Air Force, Vince moved to New York City and kicked off his storied career as a sales representative for Pan American World Airways, specializing in worldwide marketing and travel. With his next job, he began his lifelong love affair with Wall Street and all that came with it. He entered the finance and the securities sector, starting as a registered representative, office manager and stock commodities broker with several NYSE-member firms including Goodbody & Company, F.S. Mosely and Hallgarten & Company. At Goodbody & Company, he managed their NYC office and was a personal assistant to managing partner John Hall Allan. In the mid 1970’s Vince became affiliated with Deak & Company, and he was most notably the personal assistant to Otto Roethenmund, who was the President of Deak & Company, and Vice Chairman of the Foreign Commerce Bank of Zurich, Switzerland. In his role as manager of investments worldwide for Deak-Perera, Vince was a consultant to several money management companies and instituted a lecturer series on the role of foreign currencies and precious metals as an adjunct to investors’ portfolios for asset protection and diversity. Venture Capital and new business expansion also were an integral part of his investment philosophy. While working on Wall Street, he attended the New York University Graduate School of Finance and the New York Stock Exchange School of Finance. Vince also appeared on Nightline with Ted Koppel, the Larry King Show, CNN Financial news and has been quoted in Time, Newsweek and the Wall Street Journal.

Vince’s greatest love of all, however, was his passion for travel and exploring the far corners of the globe. He went on safari to East Africa. He trekked on several pilgrimages including one to the Holy Land of Israel, where he walked in the footsteps of Jesus. He took a Buddhist pilgrimage to India, because it was important to him to visit the places where Buddha taught, and he spent a week in the Himalayan Village of Dharamshala, home of the Dali Lama. It was there that he met him. He went to Kathmandu and trekked to the Annapurna Sanctuary in the Himalayas. He also did a crossing of Russia through Siberia on the Siberian Railroad. He traveled to the Gobi Desert, the Atacama Desert, the Owen Stanley Mountain Range, the Komodo Islands, the Andes Mountains, the Okavango Delta, the Kalahari Deserts and the Baffin Islands.

In his early thirties, he met Colonel John Blashford-Snell, who became a lifetime friend and exploration advisor. The Colonel invited Vince on an expedition to Panama and his passion was ignited! Vince was a member of the Explorers Club of New York, the Royal Geographical Society of England, and the Scientific Exploration Society of London. He took part in Operation Drake and Operation Raleigh, which was a five and half year long scientific endeavor under the auspices of Prince Charles and John Blashford-Snell. It was on this trip that they had an historical climb of one of the highest mountains in the Himalayas and an arduous expedition to Mongolia. He also went on expeditions to Papua New Guinea, scaled the heights of Tibet’s Mount Xixipangma and even got thrown in prison in Africa! The story of his release is legendary. One of the most exciting discoveries of his explorations occurred when Vince and the Colonel discovered the remains of the Scottish Fort St. Andrews and the lost city of Acla on the Eastern coast of Panama. And in another astonishing story (where his family really came to understand the essence of his journeys), was the retelling of a story about a trip Vince took part in to climb one of the highest peaks in Tibet with John Blashford-Snell and Colonel Henry Day. The verbiage went like this; “The leading climbers were within three hundred meters of the summit but were forced to turn back because of a three-day blizzard that dumped 36 feet of snow on them and their expedition of thirty climbers was the only one in the Himalayas at the time that did not lose a member”! It was then everyone fully understood how dangerous these trips could be and how committed Vince was to running them safely! He frequently said exploring taught him that “We are not alone in the world.”

Closer to home, Vince also spent three years studying the Apalachicola water Basin in Florida and the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia. Every year Vince returned to Florida State University to meet with his former classmates and was a guest lecturer with his trusty slide reels.

Ask Vince where his favorite place in the world was, and he would tell you Nepal, and the beautiful city of Kathmandu. He loved the lowland Terai region of Nepal, and especially The Tiger Tops Jungle Lodge that was run by his dear friend Jim Edwards. Vince and Jim had many trekking adventures and enjoyed relaxing at the lodge!

Vince had a large landscape of family and friends that he loved. He was predeceased in death by his mother Anna (Maturo), his father Vincent, his brother James Francis, his sister Rosemary Ann and her husband Don, his nephew James Vincent (from whom he carried his middle name), Phyllis & Will Flemming (who were like second parents), and cousin Rosalie Bowler. He is survived by his sister-in-law Carolyn Martinelli, and cousins Janet Taylor, Arlene Stiklius, and Angela Martinelli, who he was so proud of for her service and her commitment to medicine and helping others. He is also survived by his cherished former wife Barbara Martinelli-Price, and his dearly treasured long-time companion Yolima Cipagauta Rodriguez. He was also adored and is missed by his nieces and nephews and their spouses; Anne & Mark Virtue, Matthew & Joyce Martinelli, Joseph & Tina Gonillo, and Vincent & Karen Gonillo. And all the loving grand nieces and nephews Peter (Mary Kate), Matthew, James (Kat), Felicia (Charlie), Jordyn (Dylan & Cole), Jenna (Nick), Stacey and Josh (Karen & Gianna) miss him too. His friends also meant the world to him, he loved them all dearly. We wish we could mention all by name. Deepest thanks to friends Jack Miele, Mariela Estruch-Bateman, Vincent Pianelli, Pam Stephany, and his wonderful caregiver Sandra Fennell for the loving, local support they all gave to Vince and to his family. Also, to the kind souls who were his neighbors, and those who knew Vince from his everyday Margate life and often helped him and his family in so many ways, especially during times of need, thank you all very much.

We already miss his weekly phone calls. They were filled with laughter and facts about politics, current events and the financial advice he loved to share, along with his favorite response when he was surprised “Well I’ll be damned!” He loved to discuss all things baseball, especially his beloved Boston Red Sox. He would recount how much he enjoyed playing tennis and going fly fishing. And he would share with us all the books he was reading; he was an avid reader. He enjoyed deep conversations on Buddhism and Hinduism. He loved classical music. He was a Korean War Veteran and was incredibly proud of the time he served. He was always thrilled to never, ever stop learning.

But most of all, he was a kind, loving person who will be fondly remembered by all who were lucky enough to know him. While Vince’s wish was to have no formal ceremony, there will be celebrations of his life and legacy over time with different groups of friends and family in multiple locations so we can raise a glass and share wonderful memories of a man we all loved and miss.