Vito E. "Vick" Antonacci

Vito E. “Vick” Antonacci, 80, of Springfield, died at 5:27 pm on Friday, March 23, 2018, at Memorial Medical Center. He was born May 26, 1937 in Springfield to Oresto “Ernie” Antonacci and Mary Jane “Mame” Crifasi. He married his soulmate, Shirley Willoughby, on June 18, 1960.

A story to be told: When these two were around 4 – 5 years old, they lived two houses apart on Carpenter Street where they played together. Shirley moved away then the two met back at Lanphier High School in 1954 and started their endless love together.

He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Shirley; four children; Victoria (Scott Stone) Antonacci-Holmes of Springfield, Tina Antonacci of Springfield, Patrick (Nancy) Antonacci of Chatham, and Michael (Beth) Antonacci of Springfield, thirteen grandchildren: Jennifer (Brad) Rich, Thomas (Kayla) Antonacci, Ashley (Chad) Greenwood, Brittany (Chris) Valentino, Brent (Sara) Holmes, Nicole Propst, Brendan Antonacci, Tyler Holmes, Ryan Holmes, Marisa Antonacci, Jessica Antonacci, Joseph Antonacci, and Morgan Antonacci; four great-grandchildren: Connor Rich, Miles Holmes, Madilyn Propst and Emma Rich, and several nieces, nephews, cousins and “Tony”.

He was preceded in death by his parents; son, Joseph Antonacci on October 4, 1988 and brother, Pasquale Antonacci on March 27, 2007.

Vito was a lifelong resident of Springfield. He was the owner of Lincoln Yellow Cab Company since 1957. Vick started working at the cab office early in life. He helped out in the garage washing the windows of cabs, cleaning out the seats, finding loose change, and keeping the change. He never stopped there. He went on to help with the Air Freight, picking up large boxes at Allis Chalmers Warehouse Business in Springfield that shipped freight. Lifting and pushing he took the freight to the airport to go out. He would pick up Shirley and take her to the airport so that she could assist him. That was a time together that they cherished. He also dispatched cabs and drove them, sometimes even into the late hours. At a young age, he would go with his dad on trips and make sure his dad’s eyes were always on the road. Ernie, his father, flew and owned a Cessna airplane.

His dad would take Vick with him to fly on Sundays, sometimes accompanied by Shirley. Vick took up flying and went to school to get his license, however he came up one hour short from obtaining it. His father’s plane went down west of Springfield in July of 1957. At the age of 20 he had to take charge of the business and start to make a success of what is the Lincoln Cab Company. He had many responsibilities with the company some of them being going to auctions and buying cars to make into cabs. After 61 years of his involvement, he passed the torch to his two sons, two daughters and grandchildren.

He was a 1955 Lanphier High School graduate where he played basketball and baseball and also sang in the choir. After school, he started up a basketball team of his own where they were very competitive and won numerous tournaments. He went on to play softball with Pete Sabo on the Quality Furniture Team where they made the news in sports by winning state and regional tournaments all over the country; Florida and Wisconsin to name a couple. When his two boys were of age to play sports, Vick gave up playing and devoted his time and skills to coach his boys. He had some of the boys go to the big leagues, which was a big thrill for him, because it kept them off the streets and taught them values. He was a coach and sponsor of youth baseball for many years. He made sure the boys got to practice, even those boys who were from single parent families. He would give them a car to help get them to school and practice. This was the kindheartedness that endeared him to many. He was a member of the Springfield Sports Hall of Fame.

He was a wonderful story teller and loved socializing with everyone. A loving husband, father, grandfather, a friend to all. Vick belonged to the Roman Cultural Society and a perpetual member of the Aqua Sports Club. In 1960, he joined the ITLA (International Taxicab and Livery Association.) He went to a lot of conventions and made many new friends.

Mr. Antonacci was a member of Christ the King Church.

Visitation: 4 – 7 pm, Monday, April 2, 2018 at Staab Funeral Home-Springfield. A prayer service will be held at 4 pm.

Funeral Mass: 10 am, Tuesday, April 3, 2018 at Christ the King Church, with Reverend Joseph Ring and Msgr. David Lantz officiating. Burial will follow at Calvary Cemetery.

Memorial Contributions may be made to the American Heart Association or American Cancer Society.

Share stories, pictures, Facebook and Twitter at:
StaabFamily.com