Joseph Robert Salerno Sr

03/03/2004

Joseph Robert Salerno Sr., 82, of 120 Chantilly Ave. died Wednesday at his home. He was a well-known area musician and a longtime music teacher in the Adams-Cheshire Regional School District. Born in North Adams on Jan. 18, 1922, son of Albert and Josephine DiGiore Salerno, he attended schools in North Adams and graduated from Drury High School in 1941. He was an Army veteran of World War II, serving in the Pacific Theater. He participated in several campaigns, including New Guinea, Northern Solomons, Bismark Archipelago, Western Pacific, Southern Philippines and Luzon, until his honorable discharge on Nov. 16, 1945. He received several medals for his service. Following the war, Mr. Salerno received an undergraduate diploma in modern music from the New England Conservatory of Music. In 1970, he received a bachelor of music degree in music education from the New England Conservatory. In 1962, he became a music teacher in the Adams-Cheshire district, where he taught music and led the band for many years, retiring in 1987. Before this, he worked as a salesman for Cariddi Sales Co. in North Adams, and was first employed by GE in Pittsfield. Mr. Salerno was a well-known area trumpet player who led his band, The Hi-Liters, at many concerts at Windsor Lake in North Adams. He was a communicant of St. Anthony's Church. Mr. Salerno was also a member of the American Federation of Musicians, and was the former president of the union's North Adams chapter, the Northern Berkshire Musician's Association. He was a member of the Greylock Council of the Knights of Columbus and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 996. He enjoyed following the stock market, playing bingo, trips to Saratoga Race Track, travel, and listening to music. His first wife, the former Pearl M. DeMeo, died on Sept. 6, 1970. They were married on June 9, 1951. He leaves his wife, the former Sherry E. Hains, whom he married on Oct. 29, 1977, in St. Anthony's Church; three daughters, Cherlyn Auger of Largo, Fla., Karen M. Winther of Copenhagen, Denmark, and Elisabeth L. Salerno of North Adams; three sons, Joseph R. Salerno Jr. of Largo, Fla., Robert M. Salerno of Seneca, S.C., and Michael T. Salerno of North Adams; a sister, Eleanor "Dolly" Guidi of North Adams, three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. FUNERAL NOTICE -- The funeral for Joseph Robert Salerno Sr., who died March 3, 2004, will be Wednesday, March 10, at 9:45 at FLYNN & DAGNOLI-MONTAGNA HOME FOR FUNERALS, West Chapels, 521 West Main St. There will be a Funeral Mass at 10:30 at St. Anthony's Church. Burial will be in Southview Cemetery. Calling hours at the funeral home are Tuesday from 4 to 7. Donations may be made to the Joseph Salerno Scholarship Fund for Music at Drury High School in care of the funeral home. Survivors include three grandchildren, Currie Carbonel, Chad Blake and Brooke Carnes; three great-grandchildren, Dominique, Dylan and Gabriele Carbonel; and many nieces and nephews. Mr. Salerno was predecesed by a brother, Alfred Salerno, and a sister, Mary Stevey.

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