Joseph P Vignaly, Jr

Joseph P. Vignaly, Jr. passed away peacefully on Sunday, May 19, 2019 surrounded by loved ones. He was 59 years of age

Joe was born on April 24, 1960 in Worcester, son of Joseph P. Vignaly, Sr. and Phyllis (Baroni) Vignaly. He is survived by the family he cherished including the love of his life and he hers, his wife of 35 years, Katherine M. (Kruczek) Vignaly;  his children who he was so proud of, Lauren K. Vignaly and Jonathan J. Vignaly and Jon’s longtime girlfriend Tracey A. Damon who adored him and he them; his brothers Vincent P. Vignaly, his wife, Janet and their son Phillip of West Boylston; Michael J. Vignaly, Sr. his wife Rebecca and their son Michael, Jr of Clifton, ME; his mother and father-in-law, Walter and Vivian Kruczek of West Springfield, MA; his brother and sister-in-law, Michael and Allison Kruczek and their children, Christopher, Nicholas, Katherine, Ellen, Joshua and Benjamin of Beaver, PA; many other extended family members and friends.

Joe grew up in West Boylston and graduated from West Boylston High School. He earned his Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering from WPI and his Masters in Business Administration from Babson College. Notably, while at WPI, Joe was Vice-President of his fraternity ATO, captain of the track team and a member of the Skull Senior Honor Society. After graduation, he volunteered his time and talents for multiple alumni committees and was awarded the John Boynton Award for Service to WPI.

Joe worked at GTE in Westboro as a Program Manager and advanced through start-up companies finishing his corporate career as General Manager at Symantec, in San Jose, CA. He then started his own consulting business and convinced Kathy to also retire and so began their chance to truly enjoy life together. Joe traveled extensively through work but he especially loved to travel with his family and they took many trips together camping, hiking, cruising and sightseeing in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, many countries in Europe and US National Parks and cities. Joe would always say that the family trips and family time together was something he enjoyed most.

In addition to serving for many years as a soccer coach and scout leader in the West Boylston community, Joe was very involved in volunteering in the Worcester entrepreneurship and start-up community. He revitalized and served as Chairman of The Venture Forum in Worcester for many years recently receiving their Leadership Award. He became involved and took a leadership role in the Boynton Angels investing group, investing in new startups as well as the WPI Tech Advisor Network and spent a lot of time individually mentoring many new entrepreneurs.  

He loved to ski, hit the gym, golf and hike with all of his good friends. He was an accomplished hiker and so very close to completing all 48 NH 4000 foot mountains with his Boy Scout dad’s group.

Joe was an accomplished handyman, renovating investment properties and general contracting the building of his own beautiful home. This included doing all of the finish work himself installing woodwork, the kitchen, bathrooms, floors, walkways and landscaping.

Joe was a special man who cared deeply about his family and friends and spent a lifetime of always trying to do the right thing. He always had a kind word, a funny joke and the ability to put anyone around him at ease. He was a quiet and unassuming leader and was always positive. He was strong and a very hard worker but gentle and a very loyal friend. Joe was extremely smart, respected, talented and accomplished at his career, with his home life and in the community. He was always humble and selfless, always concerned about others first. He was a family man who worked very hard all his life to take care of his family and give back to others. Joe will be incredibly missed by all those his life touched but especially by Kathy, Lauren, Jon and Tracey.

Friends and relatives are invited to gather for calling hours Thursday, May 30^th from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm in the MERCADANTE FUNERAL HOME & CHAPEL, 370 Plantation St.  His funeral will be held Friday, May 31^st from the funeral home with a procession to Our Lady of Good Counsel church, 111 Worcester Street, West Boylston where his funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 am.  Burial will be private.  In lieu of flowers, memorial remembrances in Joe’s name may be made via http://danafarber.jimmyfund.org/goto/JoeVignaly or mailed to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, P.O. Box 849168, Boston, MA 02284.