Vincent Palacino Jr. died peacefully on February 1, 2021 at home, with loving family around him, from complications of Acute Myeloid Leukemia. The third child and only son of Vincent "Jimmy" and Mary Rose DeLella Palacino, Vince was born on October 7, 1942 in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

He graduated from Stratford (CT) High School in 1960, Central Connecticut State College (CCSC) in 1965 (B.A.), University of Bridgeport in 1968 (M.A.), and earned his Ph.D. in 1973 from Michigan State University.

Over his life Vince was a high school teacher, college instructor, and an insurance company agent trainer. His volunteerism and support of non-profits led to his working with United Way in a variety of roles. In "retirement" he enjoyed working as a mutuel clerk during the racing season in Saratoga Springs.

His Catholic faith was an important part of his life. He was an alter boy (long before alter servers became the norm), helped facilitate pre-Cana conferences, and more recently served on St. Mary's Pastoral Council, as a lector, and lent his fundraising expertise to the Church's capital campaign that funded interior renovations.

His love for photography led to earning a living as a wedding photographer, which helped fund his college education. While at CCSC, he was involved in theatre, where he learned lighting design technique resulting in his design work for several college theatrical productions. This interest in theatre was stoked by his nearly 15 years of summer employment at the American Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford, starting as a parking lot attendant and finishing his last five years as Frontend House Manager. While at the Theatre he met many notables, including Katharine Hepburn, who had him banned from backstage after he expressed his opinion on Ms. Hepburn's qualifications to portray a much younger Cleopatra! Locally he was involved in both Glens Falls Community Theater and Schuylerville Community Theater and served on the Board of Glens Falls Symphony.

Vince's interests were varied, in addition to theatre and photography, he loved to cook, learning by watching his mother and grandmother. His homemade pasta, using his mother's hand crank pasta machine, always meant a very special meal was on the menu. Fortunately, he passed along his culinary talents to his children and granddaughters. He traveled to Italy several times, meeting his Sicilian cousins, a connection that continued throughout his life. This connection to his family history, in turn, led to researching his family genealogy. He loved the ocean, with Cape Cod being a favorite vacation destination where he could breathe in the salt air and enjoy a lobster meal.

He and Mary Bensko met in college, dated for a short time and parted ways. Several years later their paths crossed again and this time their relationship led to a wedding on September 23, 1967 at SS. Cyril and Methodist Catholic Church in Bridgeport, CT. They were blessed with two children, James, wife Suzanne Rowe, of Wellesley, MA; and Kate, husband John Deck, of Queensbury. The light of his life are his four beautiful granddaughters; Nicole Palacino, Sarah Deck, Tara Palacino and Rachel Deck. He is survived by his sister, Joan Wieler, sister-in-law Jo Ann Koller and her husband Chuck, as well as several nieces, nephews and cousins, and a large extended family of in-laws. In addition to his parents, his sister Barbara, her husband Jack Potasky, and brother-in-law William Wieler predeceased him.

Calling hours are Thursday, February 4 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Baker Funeral Home, Queensbury. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Friday, February 5 at St. Michael's Church, South Glens Falls, at 11 o'clock with Father Martin Fisher and Father Joseph Manerowski co-celebrating. The Mass will be live streamed on St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church SGF YouTube Channel at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoRmh9joNvRgNRZFfSKWKBA

Vince will be laid to rest in St. John the Baptist Greek Catholic Cemetery in Stratford, Connecticut on Saturday, February 6, at 11 a.m.

His family deeply appreciates the caring concern Vince received while under the care of Dr. John Stoutenburg, Rebecca, Stephannie and the entire staff at the C. R. Wood Cancer Center and Dr. Martha Wadleigh at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. A note of appreciation also to the staff at High Peaks Hospice who helped ensure his final days were peaceful. We are grateful for the love and support from our many friends and neighbors for helping make the last several months easier.

Family suggests in lieu of flowers, please consider donations to either C. R. Wood Cancer Center (care of Glens Falls Hospital Foundation, 126 South Street, Glens Falls, NY 12801) or Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (care of James Pan-Mass Challenge ride fundraising page http://profile.pmc.org/JP0529)