FRANK JOSEPH CIRILLO

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Frank Joseph Cirillo, born March 19, 1931, in Brooklyn, N.Y., passed peacefully, with family at his side, on June 6, 2024, at the age of 93. He is survived by his two children, Maria Cirillo-Lein and Frank B. Cirillo; his son’s spouse, Sophie; his four grandchildren, Jessica Ortiz, Andrew Lein, Cameron and Caroline Cirillo; his four great-grandchildren, Ava, Brynn and Charlotte Lein and Jude Ortiz; as well as by his sister, Carmela Cagliero.

Frank was the first child of Anna and Bruno Cirillo. He was predeceased by his devoted wife of 67 years, Anita Cirillo; his daughter Lisa Jane Cirillo; as well as by his son-in-law George Max Lein Jr. He grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., then later moved to Huntington Station Long Island, to Middlebury and Bristol, Vt., and finally to Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Frank was an engineer at heart, and in addition to being selected to attend Brooklyn Technical High School, he attended Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute, which is now the engineering branch of New York University, and earned his Mechanical Engineering Degree with a major in Aeronautics. During this period, he was dating his lovely girlfriend, Anita, whom he eventually married.

He joined the ROTC while in College during the Korean War, and then accepted a job with The Arma Corporation in Roosevelt Field and took up residence in nearby Mineola, N.Y. As a junior engineer he worked on the design of the rear turret for the B52 bomber, an aircraft that still flies to this day. The following year he was drafted and served in the Army Corps of Engineers, primarily in Colorado.

After his tour of duty, he was hired by the Hazeltine Corporation in Greenlawn, N.Y., and was among the first in the family to brave the newly suburbanized farm fields of Suffolk County, Long Island. It was there that he and his wife, Anita, raised their three children.

He was an accomplished mechanical engineer and manager; and years later was hired as Vice President of Simmonds Precision in Vergennes, Vt., which later merged with Hercules and then BF Goodrich Aerospace and United Technologies. His work required worldwide travel to clients that used their fuel gauging and flight management systems. This list of aircraft included the F16, C-130, F-15 and A-300; a large variety of Boeing Aircraft; the B1 and B2 Bombers; Stealth F-117 fighter; and Swedish SAAB military aircraft. He proudly attended the Paris Air Show, the Farnborough Air Show, the Oshkosh Air Show, as well as two space shuttle launches, including the first nighttime launch from Cape Canaveral.

An early career achievement listed him in “Who’s Who in Mechanical Engineering” for his design and engineering work on the AWACS airplane radar rotor, the large disc you see spinning slowly atop the Boeing E-3, still in service today.

He loved the mountains as much as he loved the ocean. He savored summers spent at his wife’s family’s farm in the Hudson River Valley, in Ulster Park, N.Y., and eventually they purchased their own mountain house in Bristol, Vt. They were both avid tennis players and had a tennis court built on the property. The Notch was the site of many family festivities. He was also an avid hunter and fisherman. To escape the cold winds of winter they purchased an oceanfront condo in Myrtle Beach, S.C., then later retired to the Prestwick Country Club, a golf and tennis community.

A celebration of life will be held on Wednesday, Sept. 18, at noon at St. Michael’s Catholic Church, in Murrells Inlet, S.C. and will be livestreamed at saintmichaelsc.net. A luncheon at Valentino’s Italian Restaurant in Surfside Beach, S.C., will follow his inurnment. A memorial luncheon will also be held at Lusardi’s in Larchmont, N.Y., on Sunday, Oct. 6 at noon. Friends and family are welcome to attend. ◊