Obituary of Joseph F. Britto

Joseph Frank Britto “Buzzy” May 28, 1946 – May 16, 2021 Born in Brooklyn, NY, Joseph was the son of Mildred and Frank Britto. He attended Brooklyn Prep High School, Manhattan College and received graduate degrees at Brooklyn College, St. John’s University, and The City University of New York. He met his wife, Gale (Coulter), in 1964 and in his words, “thunder reverberated in a cloudless sky”. They married on August 9, 1969 and raised four children: Bryan, Andrew, Karen, and Timothy. They have since been blessed with three daughters-in-law: Tara, Alison, and Tiffany. As well as seven beloved grandchildren: Daniel, Camryn, Joseph, Caitilyn, Andrew John, Thomas, and Dante. Joseph worked as a bilingual counselor for the New York State Department of Corrections at Arthur Kill Correctional Facility, Downstate CF, and Eastern NY CF for 30 years. While at Eastern he was also the team leader of the Crisis Intervention Unit. Buzzy was a lover of history, books, chess, and learning, having served as a professor at SUNY New Paltz and SUNY Orange. He was a board member at the Pine Bush Public Library as well as a parishioner and a member of the Guardian Angel team at St. Paul’s RC Church. He never stopped learning or encouraging others to learn. Joe volunteered at Lifetime Learning Institute (LLI) lecturing on many historical topics. He encouraged others to constantly “explore your horizon” and was famous for asking others what they were reading. He enjoyed watching birds visit his feeders while enjoying coffee but tried his best to keep the squirrels at bay. He is pre-deceased by his parents, his parents-in-law Robert and Eileen Coulter, his beloved aunt, Dolores Oates and his brother-in-law Peter Shuldiner. He is survived by his wife, his children, his sister and brother-in-law Florentina and John Pannacchione, his brothers and sisters-in-law: Paul and Marie Coulter, Christine and Steve Rowlett, Clare Coulter and Kelley and Laura Coulter; twenty-one nieces and nephews, and countless friends. Gandalf, one of his favorite literary characters, said in The Fellowship of the Ring, “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” Joseph, Buzzy, Honey, Dad, Papa spent his time instilling in those he met a passion for learning, a desire to make the world a better place, and, most of all, an unending love for family. A wake will be held on Sunday, May 23 at 1:30PM – 3:30PM and 6:00PM – 8:00PM at William Gagan Funeral Home, 1525 Burlingham Road Pine Bush, NY 12566. Funeral mass will be celebrated on Monday, May 24 at 10:30 am at St. Paul’s RC Church, 2800 Route 17K, Bullville, NY 10915 In lieu of flowers donations may be made to St. Paul’s RC Church, P.O. Box 222 Bullville, NY 10915 or The Pine Bush Area Library 223 Maple Ave Pine Bush, NY 12566.