Ned Joseph Scaltrito

Ned Joseph Scaltrito, beloved father, grandfather, and friend, passed peacefully in his sleep on January 1, 2026, just after the New Year arrived. At 99 years old, he left this world the same way he lived in it—quietly, gently, and surrounded by love.

He was born in Massachusetts, a place that shaped his early years and remained part of him long after he moved away. He spent nearly 48 years there before relocating to California with his family for health reasons, carrying with him the values, humor, and New England grit that would stay with him for the rest of his life.

In his youth, Ned answered a call bigger than himself and served proudly in the United States Air Force during the Korean War. He never boasted about his service, but the qualities it forged in him—duty, integrity, steadiness—became the quiet backbone of who he was. During his tenure in the Air Force and Korean War, Ned was honored and recognized with several awards for his Bravery and Patriotism. He was a true American hero.

Faith guided him every day. A devout Roman Catholic, he didn’t just attend church; he lived his faith in the way he treated people. As the Fourth Degree Faithful Navigator of the Knights of Columbus, he served with humility and honor, always ready with a helping hand or a perfectly timed joke that could lift a room.

He shared 64 years of marriage with the love of his life, Mary Frances Scaltrito. Their partnership was a true union—rooted in faith, laughter, and the kind of love that deepens rather than fades. When she passed in 2017, a part of him went with her, yet he carried her memory with tenderness and devotion every day that followed.

Ned was the proud father of four daughters—Donna, Lisa, Mary, and Holly—each of whom he raised with patience, strength, and a gentle kind of wisdom. He was also a cherished grandfather to Christian, Alexandria, Ian, and Matteo, who knew him as a storyteller, a teacher, a builder of Lego masterpieces, and the source of countless belly laughs. To his sons‑in‑law—Rusty, Silvano, and Larry—he offered warmth, respect, and the quiet steadiness that defined him.

A master carpenter and craftsman, Ned’s hands shaped homes, civic buildings, and fine furniture across Massachusetts and Southern California. Many of his pieces still stand—sturdy, beautiful, and unmistakably his. But perhaps his greatest creations were the people he taught. Through university courses and one‑on‑one mentorship, he passed on not just skills, but pride, discipline, and the joy of building something that lasts.

He found happiness in the simple things: baking, gardening, reading his Bible, creating Lego masterpieces, and making others laugh with his sharp wit and perfectly timed humor. He had a gift for bringing lightness into any room.

He was loved across continents—from California to Massachusetts, from coast to coast, and all the way to Italy and back. Distance never dimmed the warmth he offered so freely. Ned’s legacy is everywhere: in the buildings he helped raise, in the hands he trained, in the faith he lived, in the laughter he sparked, and most of all, in the family who adored him. He will be remembered not only for what he built, but for who he was—a man of character, devotion, joy, and enduring love