Vince's life was far from easy.  He was the youngest of 3 surviving children born to immigrant Italian parents.  His mother passed away when he was only 3 years old.  Not knowing how to handle 3 young children and make a living, his father had to split up the family.  During that time, Vince bounced around a few foster homes.  When the family was finally able to reunite, it was Emma, who had to become not only a daughter and a big sister...but also a mother to a very young boy.  We firmly believed it was she who instilled in him that wondeful positive and optimistic attitude that carried him through the tough times in his life.

During his pre-teen years, Vince developed vision problems.  The poor eyesight forced him to leave school after the 10th grade.  There weren't good programs for the visually impaired in those days and he just couldn't keep up.

But he turned his disability into an asset by developing one of the sharpest, most absorbing minds of anyone...his brain was like a roach motel...the info went in and never checked out...which also made it very hard to win an argument against him.

When he was 13 years old, he joined the Post 214 cadets Drum and Bugle Corps.  There is a picture of him in the photos.  Little did he know at that time that his love affair with drum corps would span 8 decades.  He credited drum corps with keeping him, a kid living in the city, without a mother and a lack of education, off the streets and out of trouble.

Vince loved to dance, especially ballroom style.  He'd go to a dance and watch the girls, and when he found one that really knew what she was doing, he would ask her to dance.  One of those dancing partners became his wife for 39 years, Mary Ann and JoAnn's mother, Josephine.  Their parents were fun loving, caring, intelligent and prinicpled people.  They felt it was important for their girls to become independent women.  So while mom was teaching the girls how to sew and cook; Dad was teaching them how to wallpaper, paint and use power tools.  Little did THEY know that payback would come when it was time to fix up that house on Wembly road.

Their mother's death, for more reasons than one, hit Vince very hard.  But then Sunny entered his life.  They shared time traveling, bowling, playing cards and talking about everything.  Sunny always said they were like one...and they were...he couldn't see and she can't hear, so between them they made one person, and they relied heavily on each other and loved each other very much.

For over 50 years, Vince was employed as a plater.  His job required him to work in an unbearably hot room constantly breathing fumes from the chemical baths.  He never made much money and at one time, was laid off from work for an extended period.  MaryAnn was in the Bon-Bons then, sharing in Vince's love of drum corps.  MaryAnn said that she never forgot the night that her dad sat her down with tears in his eyes and said they could no longer afford for her to stay in corps.  Being a kid at the time, it was difficult for MaryAnn to understand.  But now being a parent, she understands how hard that must have been and how much that had to hurt him.  But while finances may have been slim at times. there was always a wealth of love, caring attention and suport in his girls lives.

Believe it or not, Vince did have other interests besides drum corps.  When the girls were growing up, he belonged to a local Father's Association.  They sponsored many activities, trips, dances and a huge 4th of July party.  Vince's big mouth came in handy on those days where he was the perennial pie eating contest champion.  He loved to fish and spent hours preparing for the girls annual fishing trip.  Baseball was his favorite sport.  The family even had season tickets for a few years.  But Vince also loved football and college basketball.  Vince built a ping pong table for the girls and nightly, highly competitive games were a way of life.  He loved wine, music-especially big bands and show tunes-and most of all he loved his family.

Family always came first.  From missing nationals in '61 when Josephine was sick, to helping JoAnn fix up her first house, to traveling to the Midwest to help MaryAnn and Bob when thier children were born, to taking care of Sunny when her gall bladder was removed while he was battling cancer, to telling his grandchildren how very proud he was of them.  And after marrying Sunny, there was a whole new family for him to love and care for, especially his new girls and grandchildren.  He was always there if they needed a shoulder to cry on and was a great listener when they had a problem to discuss and the girls could talk to him about ANYTHING.  His love for his family was unconditional, no matter what their failings were and they were the ones blessed to have had him in thier lives.

Vince was a simple man; a down-to-earth, no 'airs' about him, gentle man.  The  man you knew at the post, or at a family gathering, at work or at the corner bar, was the same man his family knew at home.  Vince loved life and lived it the only way he knew how...his way...and that was to unselfishly put his heart and soul into everything he did. Vince was a man of loyalty, committment and principles and would fight you tooth and nail for what he believed in.  He had a bounce in his step, a lilt in his voice, a sheepish smile, a hearty laugh and was the eternal optimist.  NO matter what curve life threw at Vince, even a terminal disease, he never said 'why me'; or 'poor me'; he never wallowed in self-pity.  He may have allowed himself a day ot two to be down but all the while, the wheels were turning, until he figured out what plan of action needed to be taken.

You can't talk about Vince without talking about his 'other' family...the Archer Epler Musketeers.  'One for All' was a way of life for him.  He was never a soloist, or an instructor; he was just a good member.  The family does not have to tell all of you involved in this wonderful orgnization all the things Vince did.  But what he did do was not for self-gratification, self-promotion, or pats on the back.  His MISSION was to 'serve the corps and live for its renown'.  And from the moment the corps learned of his diagnosis, 'All For One' was the response.  From a surprise gathering of the 'oldtimers' getting together to talk about the memories of their youth, to the many phone calls, visits, flowers and well- wishes, to people running around with cell phones so he could hear the corps perform when he was in the hospital, to the unforgettable dedication at this year's GAS reunion, when this amazing group showered him with love and affection.  Out of all the medications he received this year, without a doubt, the most effective was vitamin AE.  And, from the bottom of the family's hearts, they cannot thank you enough.

Vince's reunited now with the old buddies who preceded him: his good friends; Danny and Bob, Jack, Dick, Pops, Louie, Vince, the unforgettable Froggy, Big Jack, Earl, Bart, Harry, the incomparable Kiki Bird and too, too many others.  Can't you just hear them up there, with their raucous jam sessions, boisterous singing and endless games or morrea.

Lastly, in 1979, Vince and MaryAnn had just finished 2 memorable years together in Archie, when she mariied her husband, Bob.  A week after their wedding, they were relocating to the Chicago area and they stopped by their parents home to say their goodbyes.  As they were pulling away, Vince ran up to the car, popped his head in the window, pointed his crooked finger and said to Bob, "You know, I'm not just losing my daughter, I'm losing one of my best friends."  So as MaryAnn quoted at Vince's Memorial Mass on June 25th:  "So today I say to you Dad, we didn't just lose our father, we've lost our best friend.  We love you."