Damian Volpe, a renowned memorial designer and founder of the Volpe's Monument Company in West Hartford died at his home in West Hartford on December 2, 2013. He was predeceased by his wife Suse Schock Volpe. Mr. Volpe was an authority on old New England Gravestones. Restoring and reproducing their artistic and architectural beauty. He designed and erected many original memorials in our local cemeteries and as far away as St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. The Volpe's Monument Co. served the West Hartford Community for 50 years and many of his clients became his friends, stopping by his studio to visit when in the area. Mr. Volpe was born in Pratolia Peligna in a small hill town in the Abruzzi region of Italy, son of the late Emilio and Lucia D'Angelo Volpe. He arrived in America with his family at the age of 10 years old and settled in Hartford. Educated in the Hartford School System and graduated from the Hartford Art School, now part of the University of Hartford, also completed a diploma program from the Harvard Business School of Management and was Chief Time Study Engineer at the Hart MFG. Company in Hartford. He was a U.S. Army Veteran of the Korean War and a member of the Wethersfield Golf Club. Dom was an accomplished amateur athlete, he played soccer for the Italian American All Stars Soccer Club in the Connecticut State Semi-Pro Soccer League. He also served as a Soccer Referee for several years at the High School level. He coached Little League Soccer in Florida after retiring. He was also a friend of UCONN Soccer. He played A-level tennis in Florida and Connecticut. He is survived by a daughter Michele Volpe-Trudeau and her husband Ronald of Bolton, a grandson, Christopher Trudeau of Manchester and son Jeffrey Lumby and wife Danielle, his sister, Anna Volpe Fava of Fl, many nieces and nephews, among them a beloved nephew David Volpe of West Harford, and a long-time loving and caring friend, soul mate, and best buddy Fran Turkington of Avon. He was predeceased by his brothers Frank, Salvatore, Anthony and Americo Volpe.
The funeral will be Friday, December 6, 2013, 9 a.m. from The Dillon-Baxter Funeral Home, 1276 Berlin Tpke. Wethersfield, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial, 10 a.m. in St. Helena's Church 30 Echo Lane, West Hartford. Burial with Military Honors will follow in Fairview Cemetery, West Hartford. Relatives and friends may call at the funeral home, Thursday, December 5th from 4-7 p.m. Contributions in his memory may be made to: Wethersfield Country Club Scholarship Fund C/O Richard Zanini, 76 Counrty Club Rd. Wethersfield, CT 06109. To share a memory with the family, please visit, www.dillonbaxter.com.