Joseph Baffi

Joseph Baffi, 97, of Richmond Valley, a retired postal clerk and longshoreman who had a passion for boxing, died Monday in Staten Island University Hospital, Ocean Breeze.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, he moved to Richmond Valley in 1997.

A devoted family man, Mr. Baffi was a hard worker, simultaneously holding down jobs as a clerk for the United States Postal Service, and a longshoreman, both in Brooklyn. He retired in 1962.

Prior to World War II, he served in the Civilian Conservation Corps, a public works project that combined environmental efforts with providing jobs in the years after the Depression. Mr. Baffi traveled with the CCC to North Carolina, where he helped plant trees.

He was an enthusiastic boxer as a young man, training fighters and youngsters in the world famous Gleason's Gym, Brooklyn. He also trained children on Staten Island in the Cops for Kids program.


At the age of 95, Mr. Baffi was given an iPad for Christmas, which he quickly learned to use, listening to his favorite music by Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra, and also to watch Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts. He enjoyed solving jumble and sudoku puzzles, and was an avid Yankees fan.

His wife of 64 years, the former Concetta (Margie) Del Guidice, died in 2004. He also was preceded in death by his daughter, Linda Baffi, in 2009.

The funeral will be Friday from the Bedell-Pizzo Funeral Home, with a mass at 10 a.m. in Our Lady Help of Christians R.C. Church, both in Tottenville. Burial will follow in Resurrection Cemetery, Pleasant Plains.

Services: Our Lady Help of Christian's RC Church Friday, February 7, 2014 10:00AM

Visitation: Bedell-Pizzo Funeral Home Wednesday, February 5, 2014 & Thursday, February 6, 2014 2-4 & 7-9PM

Memorials: In Lieu of flowers, donations to the Teddy Atlas Foundation 543 Cary Avenue, Staten Island, N.Y., in Joseph's name would be appreciated.

Cemetery: Resurrection Cemetery (Staten Island)

Location: Bedell-Pizzo Funeral Home

Church: Our Lady Help of Christians R.C.Church