Obituary of Richard V Vangel
Rich Vangel passed away peacefully at his home on Saturday, September 21, 2019.
He was born on December 17, 1942 to Steve and Rita Nicola Vangel in Bridgeport, CT. His paternal grandparents, Kosta and Alexandria, along with his father immigrated here from Albania and he was very proud of his Albanian heritage. He considered his grandfather, who was one of the founders of St. George Albanian Orthodox Church in Bridgeport, now in Trumbull, and one of the founders of the Crown Grocery chain of stores in Bridgeport, to be his mentor for introducing him and including him in business transactions at a very early age.
He met his future wife Karen at Bassick High School when they were both seventeen. They have been married 54 years. He worked in a Crown Grocery store owned by his father as he attended the University of Bridgeport. Rich served in the Connecticut National Guard, 242 Engineering division. Rich started his brokerage career at Dupont, Glore, Forgan in Bridgeport in 1972 and was later recruited to a brokerage firm in Westport, CT under various names throughout the years but at the same firm now called Morgan Stanley until his retirement in August 2017. He had many loyal clients through the years.
Rich never considered commuting further to work in the brokerage business because he wanted to be home and involved in family life with his children. He coached various sports, was active in the swim team at the "mud hole", helped establish the ski team at Joel Barlow as well as a scholarship program at Joel Barlow. Rich loved traveling which sparked his interest in a love of wines. Among his travels was a trip to Albania where with the help of a local church guide, he was able to locate his grandfather's home. Rich also loved skiing with his family and friends and going to the gym regularly where he made many new long lasting friendships. He was a lifelong Red Sox fan and would attend games at Fenway Park with his family. He successfully battled many health problems over the years until he courageously decided on July 4 to claim his independence from further medical treatment knowing what the consequences would be.
He is lovingly survived by his wife, Karen; sons Darren, and his wife, Sarah, of Vermont and Ryan, of Massachusetts; and his best medicine, granddaughter Ava.
The family wishes to thank all the medical personnel who helped him through the years and all his friends many of who asked to visit him while he was at home on hospice care. At his request there will be no calling hours.
A memorial service will be conducted at St. George Albanian Orthodox Church at 5490 Main St., in Trumbull, CT on Saturday, September 28 at 11:00 a.m. Please consider giving a gift in memory of Richard Vangel to any of the following: The Patient and Family Assistance Program at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, PO Box 849168, Boston, MA 02284-9168, by phone to 1-800-525-4669 or online at dana-farber.org/give. Brigham and Women's Hospital to support the Patient/Family Fund to Brigham and Women's Hospital Development Office, 116 Huntington Ave., 3rd Floor, Boston, MA 02116, by phone to 617-424-4300. Boston Children's Hospital Trust, 401 Park Drive, Suite 602, Boston, MA 02215-5301, by phone to 617-355-6890 or http://giving.childrenshospital.org to support patient care. To sign an online register or to get travel directions, please visit www.LeskoPolkeFuneralHome.com
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Richard Vangel, please visit Tribute StoreMemorial Service
In Loving Memory
Richard Vangel
1942 - 2019
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