Charles Martino

Charlie "Carmelo" Martino was born on January 15, 1936, in Brooklyn NY, to Josephine and Gaetano Martino, becoming their 8th child. He was the younger brother of Rosalie, Dominick ("Mimi"), Jackie, Thomas, Peter, Joseph, and Nicholas. 15 months after Charlie was born his younger brother John was born. Charlie's childhood was filled with wonderful family meals, stickball games with his brothers, and time living in Italy with his father's relatives. As a young boy, each morning, his mother sent him to the bakery to buy 6 loaves of Italian bread for breakfast, and then each evening, he returned to the bakery for another 6 loaves to eat with their pasta. At the age of 14, Charlie began working at a gas station, and discovered his love of, and talent for, automobile mechanics. He continued his career as mechanic for almost 50 years after that first day pumping gas. When he was 16, Charlie met 14 year old Elaine Blackman. They quickly became a couple, and spent most of their dating years visiting Charlie's older brothers, who were married. On October 5, 1956, at the age of 20, Charlie married Elaine. They lived in a small apartment in Brooklyn. Charlie continued to work as an auto mechanic. Soon their family grew to include their daughters Donna and Denise, and their son Charles. Eventually, Charlie moved his family to Albertson, Long Island. He sold his gas stations and repair shop, and began working as Deputy Director for the NYC Department of Transportation. In the mid 1970's, Charlie left the NYC DOT, as was appointed to the NYC Board of Education as Fleet Administrator, where he was responsible for overseeing the maintenance and repair of every vehicle owned by the Board of Education. His children grew up, and eventually each married, and gave Charlie 8 grandchildren, and 4 great grandchildren. Donna married Wayne Green, and gave Charlie 2 grandsons- Wayne Jr and Christopher. Denise married Steve Ruscio, and they added 3 granddaughters to Charlie's growing family- Danielle, Nicole, and Stephanie. Charlie's son Charles married Cathy Rochford, who then gave Charlie 3 more grandsons - CJ, Thomas, and Matthew. The only thing that made Charlie happier than his 8 grandchildren were his 4 great grandchildren- Ellianna, "Little Chris," Carmelo, and Ava. Charlie was often described as "a great man' because of his ability to help anyone who asked for it. He solved everyone's problems, whether it was a car problem, or a problem within a family. He passed away on July 10, 2021, after many years of illness. His wife, children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and more than 50 nieces and nephews are all better people to have been a part of Charlie's 85 years on earth. A Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10:15 AM on Thursday at St Charles Church located at 200 Penn Ave Staten Island, New York 10306. Interment will be in Moravian Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM on Wednesday, July 14, 2021, at John Vincent Scalia Home for Funerals, Inc., 28 Eltingville Blvd, Staten Island, New York. Online condolences may be made to the family at www.scaliahome.com In lieu of flowers, Donations in Charlie's memory may be made to the Tunnels to Towers Foundation https://t2t.org/ or The St. Francis Breadline at https://stfrancisbreadline.org/. A New York State decision that those who are vaccinated are no longer required to wear masks. However, our staff who have serviced over 350 covid funeral services safely will wear masks to protect those who have not been vaccinated or those who feel uncertain and our own families. We feel this is necessary because we have handled 8 covid deaths in the month of May and more as of this writing of June 21st. Due to the current pandemic circumstances please note: We ask that you please send bakery products, fruit baskets, and other personal items to the families home directly. Floral Arrangements can be purchased from our in-house floral designers by calling 718-948-2016 to place your order or to request a catalog of selections that can be emailed to you.

Charles Martino

January 15, 1936 - July 10, 2021