Ink in his blood: Vincenzo Grosso, Daily News pressman for 50 years, dies at 86
Vincenzo Grosso, a Daily News pressman for nearly 50 years who set type for every major event from President Richard Nixon’s resignation to the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, has died.
He was 86.
His son Thomas, a News employee for nearly 30 years, said his father died from complications of a stroke.
The younger Grosso, a senior operations manager at The News’ printing facility, said the newspaper trade has been in his family for generations. His father passed it on to him, and his father learned it from his dad.
Vincenzo Grosso
“Newsprint is in our blood,” said Grosso, 47, who started at The News when he was 18. “He passed on all of his trade secrets, his knowledge when it comes to printing, on to me. He used to say, ‘Everyone has something to teach you.’ ”
It was these universal pearls of wisdom that guided the younger Grosso through much of his career and all of his life.
Although his father was giving him advice to survive a challenging industry, Grosso found that the sayings came in handy from day to day.
One of his favorites involved taking pride in your work.
“You take care of your job and your job will take care of you,” Grasso said, quoting his dad. “He used to preach that all the time.”
The Brooklyn-born elder Grosso began his work as a pressman in 1952, at the Brooklyn Mirror, before taking his skill on the road to such cities as Seattle, Chicago, Detroit and Los Angeles.
Along the way, he set type for events that included the Kennedy assassination, the Vietnam War and the historic landing on the moon.
“He worked major holidays and historical events,” Grosso said. “You name it, he was there. He’s seen it all at one point or another.”
Along the way, he met his wife, Judy, who preceded him in death and helped raise a large family that produced 16 grandchildren.
The elder Grosso’s retirement coincided with the advent of the digital age.
“He hated to see the demise of the newspaper,” Grosso said. “The newspaper has been supporting him and his family for decades. It upset him.”
Visitation was scheduled for Monday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at D’Agostino Funeral Home in Haskell, N.J. A funeral mass is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Tuesday at St. Catherine of Bologna Church in Ringwood, N.J.
Grosso will be interred at Christ the King Cemetery in Franklin Lakes, N.J.
