Necrology

Robert Victor Cardamone '38

Oct. 22, 1916-May. 16, 2005

Robert Victor Cardamone ’38, a retired wholesale food and liquor distributor, was born on October 22, 1916, in Utica, NY. A son of Frank A. and Lucy Sacco Cardamone, he attended Utica Free Academy and prepared for college at New York Military Academy in Cornwall-on-Hudson. Bob Cardamone came to Hamilton in 1934, joined Delta Upsilon, and remained on the Hill for two years. He subsequently went to work for his father in the family’s business, A. Cardamone & Sons, wholesale distributors of wines, liquors, and produce.

In his youth, Bob Cardamone developed a passion for flying, and he acquired and piloted his own airplane. In 1941, before the attack on Pearl Harbor, his aeronautical ardor led him to join the Royal Canadian Air Force. After serving for almost a year as a flying instructor in the RCAF, he returned to the U.S., which in the meantime had entered World War II, and obtained a commission as a first lieutenant in the Army Air Corps. He served until the end of the war as a pilot instructor at various bases in the States. In April 1944, while in uniform, he was married to Dorothy A. Wilson in their hometown of Utica.

Released from active duty as a captain at the end of 1945, Bob Cardamone returned to Utica and the family business, becoming its vice president. He retired as vice president and treasurer of A. Cardamone & Sons in 1977. For several years thereafter he was associated with Arctic Storage and Rich Plan, both of Utica. An avid golfer, he also took to assiduous reading in his later years and became a constant patron of public libraries.

Robert V. Cardamone died on May 16, 2005, at his home in New Hartford, NY. Predeceased by his wife in 1989, he is survived by a daughter, Nancy McGowan; a son, John R. Cardamone; and two grandchildren, two sisters, and a brother.

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