Carmelo "Carl" Mazzotta, 94, died on May 25, in hospice at Westerly Hospital, RI. He was born on July 18, 1927 and was the son of the late Carmelo and Filomena "Minnie" (Bellobuono) Mazzotta of Middletown, CT. He had two brothers: a younger brother, Robert, who died as an infant, and an older brother Sebastian, who died in 2004. Carl's wife of 62 years, Joan (DeBenedetto) Mazzotta, died in February 2017. He is survived by his daughter, Marisa Mazzotta, and her husband, John Repoza of Charlestown, RI; his son, Robert Mazzotta of Middletown, CT; three grandchildren; and 8 nieces and nephews, as well as many other relatives and friends.
Carl grew up on the north end of High Street in Middletown, CT and lived in Middletown for most of his life. Recently he lived at Masonicare at Chester and Masonicare at Mystic. He attended MacDonough School, Central School, and Wilson High School in Middletown. After a short time in the Army, he attended Norwich University in Northfield, VT, where he received a BA degree in 1949. During college, he spent a summer in Saltillo, Mexico. After college, Carl worked at the construction firm Merritt-Chapman & Scott, drawing detail layouts for parts of the master plan to build the Veterans Hospital in New Haven, CT. He then worked on construction layout for the Phoenix Insurance building in Hartford, CT. In 1951, he and 2 friends took a "top secret" job with Metcalf & Eddy as a survey group. After being hired and put on a plane, they found they were going to Thule, Greenland to work on construction of the Thule Air Base. He had many adventures in Greenland, including meeting Ootah (Otag), who had been at the North Pole with Robert E. Peary in 1909, as well as Robert Peary's son, Kalipaluk, and Matthew Henson's son, Anaukaq.
After returning to Middletown in 1952, Carl purchased the Middletown Builders Supply Company, which he built into a successful company that specialized in masonry supplies. He sold the business and retired after 33 years. In retirement, Carl served on the board of directors of the Farmers and Mechanics Bank and was chair of the loan committee, and later served on the boards of City Savings Bank and Citizens Bank. He was chair of the Middletown Planning and Zoning Commission, and a member of Middletown's Board of Finance and Merit Rating Board. He was a member of the Italian American Civic Order, the Elks, the Masons and the Shriners.
Carl enjoyed golf, fishing and shell fishing, gardening, photography, watercolor painting, and travel. Carl and Joan traveled extensively over many years, including many trips to Latin America, Europe, and throughout the U.S. They joined the New Mexico Archaeology Society and worked on a dig of a great kiva. In 2007, Carl completed a memoir and family history, "Notes of My Memories," which is available at the Russell Library. He was a member of St. Sebastian Church in Middletown.
Friends and relatives may call at D'Angelo Funeral Home, 22 South Main Street, Middletown, from 9 am to 10:30 am on Wednesday, June 1. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 am Wednesday at St. Sebastian Church in Middletown. In lieu of flowers, you may donate to the charity of your choice .