Obituaries

Joseph CucinelliDOT Personnel Specialist

Joseph Cucinelli, 78, who was an automated systems analyst and personnel specialist at the Department of Transportation for 15 years, died of complications of diabetes and pneumonia June 23 at Inova Fair Oaks Hospital.

Mr. Cucinelli worked for the federal government from 1956 until his retirement in 1992. He worked for the Civil Service Commission, Department of the Interior, Federal Aviation Administration and Transportation Department.

He was born in Pittsburgh, worked in the steel mills as a young man and joined the Army in 1946. After his service, he graduated from the University of Pittsburgh and then moved to New York, where he took classes at Columbia University.

Mr. Cucinelli moved to Washington and later Alexandria, where he lived until his death.

A lover of the arts, Mr. Cucinelli played the clavichord for many years and enjoyed classical music. He also liked going to museums to see historic art, and he dedicated his post-retirement life to enameling, drawing and painting portraits, still lifes and river and cityscapes.

Mr. Cucinelli read on subjects including the brain, DNA, war history and literature. He also wrote haikus.

He participated in several bowling leagues, played in an adult hockey league for two years and owned season tickets to the Washington Capitals hockey team and the old Washington Diplomats soccer team. For several years, Mr. Cucinelli enjoyed sailing his 21-foot sailboat, Aquarius, on the Potomac River.

His wife of 48 years, Ieva Priman Cucinelli, died in March.

Survivors include his son, James Cucinelli of Alexandria.

-- Patricia Sullivan