Joseph Thomas Cavagnuolo, age 72, of Trumbull, passed away after a hard-fought battle with cancer on Sunday, March 21, 2021 at Bridgeport Hospital. Born in Derby on February 5, 1949, Joe was the son of the late Salvatore Cavagnuolo and the late Theresa (Ladona) Cavagnuolo. He spent his childhood in Derby and continued to live there until 1992, when he and his family moved to Trumbull, where he had been teaching fifth grade.
Ultimately, Joe would go on to spend 41 years teaching fifth grade at Middlebrook Elementary School. Over that time, he became a fixture within the Trumbull Public Schools community, serving several terms as co-president of the teacher’s association, and educating multiple generations of Trumbull residents. It was not uncommon for Joe to keep in touch with his students for years or even decades after they left his classroom, and there were many instances in which he would find the children of former students sitting in front of him.
Always an encouraging and inspiring presence within the classroom, he often would hear stories from students of years past about how fifth grade was the year they actually started to love reading, or understand math, or simply believe in their own abilities.
The relationships Joe built with his students led them to learn about his interests, which resulted in his classroom’s walls, shelves, bulletin boards, and even ceilings being adorned with gifts and tokens ranging from Beatles paraphernalia, to a seemingly endless collection of coffee mugs, to sports trading cards and memorabilia – Joe was an especially avid fan of the Yankees, the UConn women’s and men’s basketball teams, and anything having to do with horse racing and boxing. Pouring his passion for these and countless other topics into his interactions with students allowed them to feel comfortable sharing their own interests and helped create the type of connections that made him such an effective and valued educator.
Joe is survived by his beloved wife of 50 years, Marlene, his son, Jared, his grandson, Jude, and Jude’s mother, Stephanie Hartnett. In addition, he is survived by his two sisters, Ann Mirisola (Charlie) and Louise Lombardi (Joe), his nieces, Melissa Shea (Danny), Marci Mirisola (Melissa Picone), and Caren Fauci (Tom), his great-nieces and great-nephews, Marissa and Brandon Shea, T.J., Tyler, and Talia Fauci, and Max Picone-Mirisola, and many family members and dear friends, closest among them Jim Balisciano and Tom Bartimole. In addition to his parents, Joe was predeceased by his life-long friend, John Ogle. The family would like to thank Dr. Neal Fischbach and the nurses and staff of Smilow Cancer Hospital Care Center, Dr. Ari Pollack, the staff of Bridgeport Hospital, and the Trumbull EMT Department.
No services will be held at this time. A memorial gathering in Joe’s honor will be held in the future. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Joe’s name to Yale-New Haven Health’s Smilow Cancer Center at https://www.yalecancercenter.org/gifts/ or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at https://www.stjude.org/donate. The SPINELLI-RICCIUTI/BEDNAR-OSIECKI FUNERAL HOME in Ansonia has been privileged with the arrangements. To sign Joe’s guestbook or to share a memory, please visit www.spinelliricciutifh.com.
