Joseph Salvestrini, earned Purple Heart

Joseph J. Salvestrini, a Ridgefield native who won a Purple Heart and Bronze Star in World War II, died Monday, Nov. 20, at his home in Lompoc, Calif. He was 82 years old.
Mr. Salvestrini was born April 26, 1918, in Ridgefield, a son of Albert and Alegrina Monte Salvestrini. He grew up and attended schools here.
He served in the U.S. Army’s 740th Battalion during World War II from April 1942 to November 1945. He was awarded the Purple Heart during combat in Germany and the Bronze Star for bravery for repairing tanks under fire.
After the war, he worked as a private estate superintendent in North Salem, N.Y. for 30 years. The gardens he maintained won numerous awards from the Garden Society in New York.
He later lived in Florida before moving to Lompoc in 1988.
Mr. Salvestrini was an avid collector of clocks and antiques and belonged to the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors.
He was a past board member of the Valley of the Flowers Half Century Club and was a member of American Legion Bill Proud Post 211.
Survivors include his wife, Brita Salvestrini of Lompoc; a son Joseph P. Salvestrini of Brewster, N.Y.; a daughter, JoAnn Marie Clark of San Diego; sisters Lena Frattini of Ridgefield and Mary Sartini of Brooklyn, N.Y.; three brothers, Aldo and Raymond Salvestrini, both of Ridgefield, and Dante Salvestrini of Springhill, Fla.; two grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.
Contributions may be made to Hospice Partners of the Central Coast, 285 South Street, Suite I, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401.