NORTH SMITHFIELD – On Thursday evening candles were lit as the sky grew dark over the North Smithfield High School turf field. Instead of a field filled with applause for young athletes, the venue was transformed into the gathering place for more than 100 people to remember Joseph “Joe” A. Rossi, a 2022 graduate of the school who died on Saturday, August 24 following a motorcycle crash.
Rossi was an award-winning high school athlete. One of the speakers at the candlelight vigil, “Coach Cath”, as track team coach Catherine Reyes called herself, said, “Joe had a very deep connection with God.”
The young man brought the relationship with God into his relationship with people, said the coach.
“Joe always wore a cross around his neck. His mother is wearing it now,” she said.
The young man was noted by speakers and other attendees at the vigil for his caring nature, sweet disposition, many goals, playful humor and other attributes.
“He was always smiling. I could kid around with him,” said friend Michael Bozzi, who was among the attendees. He and his son Michael Bozzi Jr., also a 2022 NSHS grad, worked with Rossi.
“I worked with Joe at Hercules on Friday nights,” said the father. “I had never seen him mad.”
Robin Allard’s son Jimmy Allard and Beth Bachand’s son Casey Ammerman were friends with Rossi.
“My son grew up with Joe,” said Robin Allard. “He was very sweet, with a heart of gold. If you were sad he came right up to you. Joe was like his mom Tonya; she’s a doll.”
“Joe put 100 percent into everything he did,” said Bachand.
“He was funny, too,” Bachand said.
Town Administrator Paul Zwolenski noted that the vigil was a sad, solemn occasion.
“He was loved by the community and taken at a such an early age,” said Zwolenski.
According to his obituary, Joe Rossi was the son of Anthony L. Rossi Jr. and Tonya (DiBattista) Rossi, an apprentice electrician for the I.B.E.W. LU99 who “had many friends and liked gaming online with a computer he built from scratch. He was a self taught guitar player. He had a passion for cars and trucks alike. He loved his job, golfing, working out at the gym, hanging out with his friends and his girlfriend Lily.” What’s more, Joe Rossi “enjoyed running track, long jump, triple jump and pole vaulting, in which he won many awards. After graduation he became a Track Coach. He framed houses for a while before he became a Union Electrician. Joe also had a deep love for all animals, especially his cats Kadie and Jethro.”
A GoFundMe account was established online by Vanessa Lemoine of North Smithfield to raise money for, “funeral costs and other bills pertaining to the incident.”
“Funeral costs can quickly build and be overwhelming for a family that just experienced the loss of a loved one,” notes the fundraising page. “Any small or large donation will help pay for these costs and reduce the burden on the family.”
Rossi lost control of the motorcycle as he was driving on Truman Road in Woonsocket, according to Police Chief Thomas Oates in press reports. The motorcycle went off the road and struck a pole.
A roadside memorial has been created on Truman Drive by those who loved him.
Rossi would have been 21 in September.
