Joseph Pesce
Early Life
Giuseppe “Joseph” Pesce was born on August 8, 1896, in Barile, in the province of Potenza, Italy, the son of Biase Pesce and Carmela Palese. He was raised and educated in Italy before immigrating to the United States as part of the early twentieth-century wave of Italian migration.
By 1917, he was living at 54 Purchase Street in Rye, New York, and working as a gardener for Park Church. His occupation reflects the estate and groundskeeping work that employed many Italian immigrants in the Rye area during this period.
World War I Service
Pesce entered military service on May 27, 1918, having been inducted in Westchester County, New York. He was assigned to Company H of the 52nd Pioneer Infantry Regiment, a unit tasked with engineering and labor duties in support of front-line operations.
Pioneer Infantry regiments played a vital role in the American Expeditionary Forces, combining infantry training with specialized responsibilities such as road construction, trench digging, bridge building, and the repair of railways and supply lines. Their work ensured that combat units could advance and maintain supply during active operations.
Pesce served overseas from August 2, 1918, to March 6, 1919, placing him in France during the final Allied offensives of World War I and the subsequent occupation period following the Armistice. Although his unit’s work was primarily in support roles, it was essential to the success of American operations during the closing months of the war.
He served in the rank of Private and sustained no wounds or injuries in action. He was honorably discharged on April 1, 1919.
Life After Service
Following his return from military service, Pesce settled permanently in the Rye and Port Chester area, where he built a long career as a self-employed gardener working on private estates. He became a well-known figure in the local community, maintaining properties throughout Rye for many years.
On April 22, 1920, he married Gertrude Rich in Rye, New York, and together they had one daughter, Carmela Mary Pesce. The family lived in Rye for approximately fifty years before later residing in Port Chester and Rye Brook.
He was a communicant of the Church of Our Lady of Mercy in Port Chester and remained active in his community throughout his life. His wife Gertrude died in 1960 after forty years of marriage.
Joseph Pesce died on December 2, 1983, at United Hospital after a long illness at the age of 87.
At the time of his death, he was survived by his daughter, Carmela Pesce Gray of Rye Brook; his brother, Peter Pesce of Rochester, New York; two grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.