Joseph Vincent Tumminello, Longtime A&P Produce Supervisor, Dies at 96
ARNOLD, Md. -- Joseph Vincent Tumminello, a retired produce specialist with Montvale, N.J.-based A&P who opened many of the chain's locations and was an early advocate of selling local fruits and vegetables, has died here at the age of 96.
Bucking the trend for transporting produce across the country Tumminello, LOBBIED for Maryland-grown produce, explaining that locally grown products would cost the retailer less and offer superior taste.
A Baltimore native, Tumminello gained his experience in fruits and vegetables by working with his father at a produce stand catering to hotels and restaurants, as well as regular shoppers.
He later got a job as a clerk at a Baltimore A&P store, staying with the company for 35 years and rising to become its produce supervisor for Central Maryland, the Eastern Shore, before retiring in 1973.
Tumminello donated fresh produce to the Little Sisters of the Poor on a weekly basis, making sure to pay the company for the items he gave to charity.
He is survived by his wife, the former Anele Waitekunas, whom he married in 1935; daughters Anelle Tumminello, Frances Senft, and Anne Marie Helbing; four grandsons; and one great-granddaughter.
Bucking the trend for transporting produce across the country Tumminello, LOBBIED for Maryland-grown produce, explaining that locally grown products would cost the retailer less and offer superior taste.
A Baltimore native, Tumminello gained his experience in fruits and vegetables by working with his father at a produce stand catering to hotels and restaurants, as well as regular shoppers.
He later got a job as a clerk at a Baltimore A&P store, staying with the company for 35 years and rising to become its produce supervisor for Central Maryland, the Eastern Shore, before retiring in 1973.
Tumminello donated fresh produce to the Little Sisters of the Poor on a weekly basis, making sure to pay the company for the items he gave to charity.
He is survived by his wife, the former Anele Waitekunas, whom he married in 1935; daughters Anelle Tumminello, Frances Senft, and Anne Marie Helbing; four grandsons; and one great-granddaughter.