Salvatore Bartolone

Salvatore Bartolone October 19, 1939 – June 2, 2026

Salvatore passed peacefully on June 2, 2026 at age 86. Born on October 19, 1939 in Castiglione Sicily, Italy, Salvatore’s early childhood was shaped by the hardships of World War II. He grew up in a time of devastating poverty and conflict, when the German army’s retreat through Sicily in the summer of 1943 left communities like his own with nothing but devastation. Like many Sicilian families surviving under occupation, the Bartolones traded what little they had — even fruit — simply to obtain bread.

In the years following the war, the family suffered the loss of Salvatore’s mother, Angela, who passed away suddenly at 49. Despite the grief and hardship that surrounded him, Salvatore found both purpose and joy in music. He played the fife with his father in municipal band, traveling from town to town across Sicily. This early experience provided the joy of music for the rest of his life.

Salvatore’s life changed forever when his father, Carmelo, made the courageous decision to bring his younger children to America after the loss of his wife. On March 31, 1955, at the age of 15, Salvatore and his sister Nina departed from Palermo together, embarking on a nearly two-week voyage across the Atlantic. The ship made stops in Genoa, Spain, and Canada before finally arriving at Ellis Island, New York on May 27, 1955 — a date that marked the beginning of a new life. He was among many passengers who fell ill during the difficult journey. His destination was Rochester, New York, where family had already settled, and where Carmelo had secured sponsorship through clothing manufacturer Hickey Freeman — a requirement for immigration at the time. His father would later remarry and have two children, Letizia and Josephine. 

Adjusting to life in America was not easy as Salvatore had left behind his older brothers Ignazio and Tomaso. He and Nina enrolled together at Jefferson High and older brother Tomaso would rejoin the family in New York a few years later.

Determined to serve his adopted country Salvatore enlisted in the Army, serving in a Quartermaster Company in Virginia, a specialized U.S. Army logistical unit responsible for sustaining troops in the field.  After four honorable years, Salvatore returned home to Rochester.

His military service opened the door to a 30-year career at Kodak, where he worked in the waste treatment facility. He bought a home near the plant, married, and built a family, raising four children. In his retirement years, Salvatore drove a school bus, spending a decade carrying children to and from high school — a quiet but fitting final chapter that he enjoyed along with has wife Carol as the bus aide.  

Family was the center of Salvatore’s life and the source of his greatest joy, especially his youngest child Tina who he lived with until his passing. He was a devoted father who showed up in the ways that mattered most. Summers filled with family vacations to Lake George, Allegheny State Park and Alexandria Bay.  He opened his home for every major holiday, gathering family and friends around the table with warmth and generosity, ensuring that no celebration passed without everyone together under one roof.   Salvatore made certain his children and grandchildren always knew the stability and love of a close family.

To know Salvatore was to know a man who loved America with his whole heart. He arrived to the United States as a teenager who spoke no English, with little more than the clothes on his back and the determination of his family beside him. Yet he embraced every opportunity this country offered — serving in its military, becoming a citizen, building a career, owning a home, and raising a family. He lived the American Dream not as a figure of speech, but as a daily, lived reality. Salvatore never forgot where he came from, but he was profoundly grateful for where life had brought him, and he carried a deep and genuine patriotism until his final days. Always the American Flag flown proudly at his home. 

Salvatore is predeceased by his father, Carmelo Bartolone; his mother, Angela Zumba Bartolone; his sister, Antonina “Nina” Grugnale; his brothers, Ignazio Bartolone and Tomaso Bartolone; and his wife, Carol Bartolone.

Salvatore is survived by his children, Christine Bartolone, Samuel Bartolone (Tracy), Diane Bartolone (Liz), and Tina Bartolone; his grandchildren, Elise Bartolone, Aidan Bachman, and Luca Bartolone; and his former wife Catherine Bartolone, mother to his children, and companion of many years Geraldine Meloni. Nieces and nephews.  

Salvatore Bartolone lived a life of family first, a man of few words whose actions spoke for his integrity and morals and love of family, he never ever “sweat the small stuff”.  Truly enjoying his life and his home, good food, wine, lemon cake, Italian cookies and Music.  And most of all highly manicured lawn, weed free. 

His last words to us,  “It is what it is”

Ti Vogliamo bene Papa 

Friends may call Sunday (June 7th) 1-4 PM at Vay-Schleich and Meeson, 1075 Long Pond Road. His Funeral Service will be held Monday (June 8th) 11:00 AM in the Funeral Home Chapel. Entombment, Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.