Salvatore Sciarretta

Salvatore “Sal” Sciarretta, 82, of Stamford, Connecticut and Boca Raton, Florida, passed away November 16, 2021. He died peacefully, surrounded by his beloved wife, Mary Gertrude “Gert” Sciarretta, their children, grandchildren, siblings, nieces, and nephews.
Sal was born in Minturno, Italy, on December 22, 1938, to the late Vincenza and Giacomo Sciarretta. As one of the youngest of ten siblings, he was no stranger to hard work. Through perseverance, he learned to appreciate the art of stone and masonry at a young age. Shortly after the Second World War, a young Sal handled a small object he thought was a ball but was in fact a grenade. While this resulted in blindness, Sal’s sight was restored six months later. His family took this as a miracle and reflection of his faith in God. With an unyielding determination to improve his position in life, Sal decided to travel to America. Over the course of five decades, his relentless work ethic allowed him to find footing in a new country and achieve the American dream for himself, his family, his friends, and his community.
By day, Sal became an engineer for Clairol Inc., where he met his wife Gertrude. At night he worked in the home building industry. Sal and Gert began their life together, marrying in 1961 and welcoming three children: Salvatore Jr., Theresa, and Peter. At age 32, Sal founded Hemingway Fine Homes, which he and his family grew into an award-winning company that builds illustrious homes in Fairfield, Westchester, and Palm Beach counties. Sal’s notable achievements include being named a 40-time excellence winner by the Home Builders Association of Connecticut (HOBI Awards), a three-time A-List Award finalist, and a one-time Innovation in Design Award finalist (IDA Awards). Most notably in 2021 he was inducted into the Fairfield County Home Builder and Remodelers Association Hall of Fame. What started as a job to support his family turned into careers and a legacy to be continued by generations to come.
Sal’s family was the highlight of his life. Sal and Gert hosted Sunday dinners, preserving Italian traditions and values that reinforced the strong bond the family embraces today. Sal enjoyed weekly “date night” with his wife and loved nothing more than having lunch with “the boys” and watching “Westerns” on the couch with his precious dog, Bella.
Sal is survived by his beloved wife of 60 years, Gertrude; his devoted children son Salvatore Jr. and wife Robin, daughter Theresa Horn and husband Douglas, and son Peter; adored grandchildren Michael and wife Julia, Chelsea, Matthew, Robert and wife Jessica, Brittany, and Peter; great grandchild Riley; sister Lucy Albano and brother Mario Sciarretta. Sal is predeceased by his siblings Teresa, Anthony, Sebastian, Severino, and Louis.
Sal will be remembered for his wisdom, confidence, generosity, strength, and entrepreneurial spirit.
A visitation for Salvatore is planned for Sunday, November 21 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., held at the Nicholas F. Cognetta Funeral Home, 104 Myrtle Avenue, Stamford. All are invited to attend. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Monday, November 22nd at 10 a.m. at Sacred Heart Church, 37 Schuyler Avenue, Stamford. Entombment will follow at St. John’s Cemetery, Darien.
Family would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Dr. Marcus A. Mayus, MD, Greenwich Medical Associates, Memorial Sloan Kettering, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Greenwich Hospital.
People wishing to honor Sal’s lifelong commitment to family and community can make donations to Stamford EMS at www.stamfordems.org and/or St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital at www.stjude.org or 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105