In the global world of beef, pork and poultry slaughter, there are few people around who didn’t know “Vin” Volpe. He was a pioneer in every sense of the word, leading Jarvis in the manufacturing of world class equipment and selling it globally well before this was the norm.
He was a man of vision and drive, travelling the world to open new markets for U.S.-made equipment and investing in the best manufacturing technology money could buy. Way back when Japanese manufacturing was being touted as eclipsing U.S. capabilities, I recall taking a tour of the Jarvis manufacturing operation with Vin. I left with the thought that if the Japanese manufacturers saw this, it would be cause for concern.
Anyone who has known Vin for a while has stories to tell, and I have my share, but one of my favorites is this: I had been to a plant in Argentina and showed Vin a picture I took of a slaughter line there, remarking how they did everything with a knife. Vin looked closely at the photo and detected a small brisket saw. It was a competitor’s saw. He interrupted our discussion, got on his phone, called in his right hand man and pointed to the saw. In no uncertain terms, he demanded, “Get it out.”
Meat processing, especially slaughter, has never had the best image with the public. There was a time when the industry association, then named the American Meat Institute (AMI), was concerned about improving that image. Vin, who always directly controlled Jarvis’ advertising, was running graphic photos with his ads. The AMI thought he should tone it down, but was reluctant to go head-to-head with Vin. The group knew we had a close relationship so asked if I would broach the subject with Vin and see if he wouldn’t create more appealing, or at least less graphic, ads. I went to see Vin and was getting to the subject at hand in a roundabout way. Vin saw where I was going and stopped me. “Listen kid,” he said, “when they see my ads, they can smell it.”
Vin was directly responsible for the launching of our Spanish-language magazine, Carnetec, in 1993. He told me he needed a high quality magazine that would cover all of Latin America in order to properly promote Jarvis products. He said if we launched such a magazine, he would always support it. He was, as always, true to his word.
Finally, when we started the company in 1993, I went to see Vin and ask for his support. He looked at me and said, “Kid, as long as you have a magazine, you’ll get 12 pages a year from me.” As the years went by, Vin always seemed one step ahead of where I was with the business and almost presciently told what I needed to do to keep growing. He was a master of strategy and process and gave freely of his advice until the day he passed. Not much more to say than that.
Following is the obituary from his family:
Vincent Robert Volpe passed away peacefully at home on April 3, 2020 at the age of 91, with his loving wife Susanne by his side.
He was born on June 15, 1928, the son of Vincent Volpe of Alanno, Abruzzo, Italy, and Felicia Tedesco Volpe of Waterbury, Conn.
Vincent is survived by his wife of 11 years, Susanne Ryder Volpe, as well as his children from his 56-year marriage to Madeline Cacace Volpe who passed away February 18, 2007: Jeanne St. Martin and her husband Sean of Ellicott City, Md.; Vincent Volpe Jr. and his wife Christine of Houston, Texas, and Le Havre, France; Barbara Young and her husband Warren of Goshen, N.Y.; and Christopher Volpe and his wife Mary Angela of Seekonk, Mass.; as well as his grandchildren, Lucas and Jessica St. Martin, Rosa and Kevin Pruett, Sally Young, Samuel Young, Gino Volpe, Dante Volpe, Stephanie Lambert, Camille Volpe; and great grandchildren, Mila Pruett, Madeline St. Martin, Hugo Vitek and Emma Vitek.
After Madeline’s death, Vincent married Susanne Ryder. They lived happily for the past 11 years in Guilford, and the Volpe family welcomed Susanne’s family: Patrick and Maribel Welch and their children Isabella and Patrick Jr. of Scottsdale, Ariz.; Sarah and Josh Smith and their son Langdon of Lakeville, Conn.; and Catherine and Jamie Carrington and their son George of Washington, D.C.
Vincent was predeceased by his sister Dorothy Volpe Solocious and his brother Leo Volpe.
The first of Vin’s extraordinary achievements came when he was 6 years old. He and his older siblings Dorothy and Leo toured the vaudeville circuit as the Volpe Trio in the 1930s. It marked the first time his natural showmanship came out, and it was something he would never lose. It was during his childhood that his love of the New York Yankees began, a love he passed on to his children and grandchildren. He grew up in Waterbury, Conn. After high school, he enlisted in the Army, and served in Trieste, Italy.
Before the war, Vinny and Leo worked at their uncle’s gas station. After the war, the mechanically minded brothers dove back into the automobile business. Their uncle worked for Standard Oil, and he got the boys a gas station to run. At the same time, Vinny was attending Boardman Trade School to learn more about mechanics. His goal was to own an automobile dealership, specifically a Cadillac Oldsmobile dealership. But that particular goal was cut short when all the gas and oil Vinny was handling caused his skin to break out. A doctor suggested that the young GI go to college.
In 1950, he met a nurse in a hospital, and knew as soon as he laid eyes on her that she was the one. Vin married Madeline Cacace just a year later. In the early days of their marriage, Vin used the GI bill to get his Associate’s degree. He was part of the first graduating class of Quinnipiac University. The couple then moved to Boston, where Vin earned his degree in Business Administration from Boston University.
His family was the great love of his life. In 1955, Vin and Madeline’s first child, Jeanne, was born. They went on to have three more: Vincent Jr., Barbara, and Christopher. The roles of dad, grandpa, and great-grandpa were the greatest ones the eternal entertainer ever filled.
By 1955, Vinny and Madeline were living in Connecticut, and Vin got a job at the Connecticut State Tax Department. He had a summer before that job started, so he began working at Jarvis Corporation. That temporary job turned into a 65-year career. He started out working from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. cleaning machinery, and quickly moved up through the ranks. Shortly after he started at Jarvis, the company asked him to move to Guilford to manage a small facility there as the Export Sales Manager of Machine Tools. The only problem: there was nothing to export, so Vin got to work. He started by organizing corporations in Canada, Australia, and Argentina. In the following decades, he started up companies in 12 more countries. He became President of Jarvis and built a world-renowned company. He continued business expansion until the day he died, and developed a worldwide distribution network.
He was active in the community his whole life. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Padre Pio Foundation of America. He was a long-time member of St. George’s Catholic Church, and served on the Interfaith Council Board of Guilford. He served the Hispanic community of Guilford and the surrounding shoreline communities for more than 40 years. Vin was also a member of the Quinnipiack Club and Amity Club of New Haven, and was an active contributor to various local charities. He was a long-time member of the National Machine Tool Builders Association, and President of the Guilford Rotary. In 2003, he got the Chapter Award of Merit from the UConn Chapter Honor Society of Agriculture. He also got a U.S. Army Freedom Team Salute for his service in World War II. In 2009, Vin got the NAACP Freedom Fund Award for being a good community partner and supporter of growth and service in the Middletown community.
He was a loving husband and father, a true philanthropist, and a self-made Captain of Industry. He will be missed by the many people whose lives he touched.
Services will be held at a later date when his family and friends can gather to honor his life. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Women & Family Life Center of Guilford Connecticut, 1 Park Street, Guilford, CT 06437; Padre Pio Foundation of America, 463 Main Street, Cromwell, CT 06416; and VNA Community Hospice of Guilford, 753 Boston Post Rd, Guilford, CT 06437.