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Vernon Boitano 1917 - 1979

Vernon Boitano was born on January 20, 1917, and died at age 62 years old in October 1979. Family, friend, or fan, this family history biography is for you to remember Vernon Boitano.

Vernon Boitano

January 20, 1917

October 1979

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Vernon Boitano Vernon Boitano (1917 - 1979)

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Vernon Boitano's History: 1917 - 1979

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Introduction

I met Jimmy a few month before he died of pneumonia. I was renting a room next to his basement apartment in the South End of Boston. He was a kind and generous friend who would stop me as I returned from the library with an armful of books. He would eagerly check out each book and give me a rundown on the author’s affiliated university or institution and how he or she fit into the discipline, whether it was history or literature, economics or anthropology. Jimmy was a bibliophile. He was the most erudite man I ever met. In the 1930’s, he’d been a bank robber. He spent most of his life in prison, where he’d become the prison librarian. He was there when Malcolm X came through and Jimmy taught Malcolm a lot about Black history and offered guidance in fighting back. “When they hit you, you have to hit back twice as hard.” When Jimmy got out of prison, he used most of his Social Security money in books, and went around Boston with a shopping cart, picking up odds and ends like porcelain dolls, feather boas, magazines, and phonograph records. But mostly books. His apartment was wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling books. They were in his kitchen, his bathroom, his bedroom. There was a pathway in his living room to a recliner, where he slept because there books on his bed, piled to the ceiling. I was the only one who visited him in the hospital. He gave no next-of-kin. So the hospital thought it would fall on me to dispose of his property. I called the Boston Library and they sent someone out to take a look. There were not only a lot of books, including full sets of encyclopedias, they covered every subject. So the librarians told me that instead of trying to integrate Jimmy’s books into existing collections, they would probably open a whole new branch for them. But then the authorities found his family in Fall River, and they took over. And I went my way. Jimmy was an interesting man. I’m sure many found him difficult. He was complicated. I found him to be a kind man, and that’s what counts most in my book.
01/20

1917

Birthday

January 20, 1917

Birthdate

Unknown

Birthplace

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10/dd

1979

Death

October 1979

Death date

Unknown
Cause of death

Unknown
Death location

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Vernon Boitano lived 17 years shorter than the average family member when died at the age of 62.

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Vernon Boitano lived 17 years shorter than the average family member when died at the age of 62.

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In 1917, in the year that Vernon Boitano was born, in April, the U.S. entered World War I, declaring war against Germany. President Wilson had previously declared neutrality in the war - a position supported by the majority of Americans - but after Germany declared that they would sink all ships trading with Great Britain and sunk U.S. ships, public opinion began to change. Then the Lusitania was sunk, killing 1,201 - including 128 Americans - and more U.S. ships were sunk. The U.S. could stand aside no longer.

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In 1929, Vernon was just 12 years old when the St. Valentine's Day Massacre happened on February 14th. In Chicago, seven men from the North Side Irish gang were gunned down by Al Capone's South Side Italian gang at the garage at 2122 North Clark Street. Al Capone was making a successful move to take over Chicago's organized crime. But the St. Valentine's Day massacre also resulted in a public outcry against all gangsters.

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Vernon Boitano's Family Tree & Friends

Vernon Boitano's Family Tree

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Vernon Boitano Jan 20, 1917 - Oct 1979

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Other Biographies

Other Boitano Family Biographies

Boitano, Robert (Sep 9, 1895 - Sep 1985) Boitano, Charles (May 30, 1920 - Oct 1980) Boitano, George (Apr 23, 1901 - Dec 1985) Boitano, Marge (May 14, 1905 - Jun 1966) Boitano, Helen (Dec 23, 1898 - Oct 1985) Boitano, John (Apr 3, 1898 - Sep 1984) Boitano, Ida (Mar 2, 1905 - Aug 4, 1991) Boitano, Mary (Jul 24, 1927 - Apr 19, 2011) Boitano, Eugene (May 21, 1902 - Mar 1975) Boitano, Edward (Feb 6, 1917 - Dec 26, 1987)

Boitano, Anthony (Feb 25, 1904 - Jun 26, 1944) Boitano, Jane (Sep 15, 1890 - Sep 15, 1987) Boitano, Helen (May 16, 1917 - Mar 30, 2007) Boitano, John (Aug 13, 1915 - May 16, 1996) Boitano, Giacoma (May 25, 1910 - Mar 3, 2001) Boitano, Teresa (Nov 19, 1917 - Feb 1970) Boitano, Annette (Sep 15, 1902 - Sep 14, 1993) Boitano, Anna (Jun 9, 1883 - Feb 1974) Boitano, Theresa (Jun 16, 1908 - Mar 1971) Boitano, Paul (Nov 28, 1916 - May 16, 2008)

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Vernon Boitano 1917 - 1979

Vernon Boitano's History: 1917 - 1979

Introduction

Birthday

Death

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Vernon Boitano's Family Tree & Friends

Vernon Boitano's Family Tree

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Other Boitano Family Biographies