Wauwatosa- 84, was born breech on September 20th, 1939 in Vineland, NJ and he claimed to be a** backwards ever since. More likely it was just the first example of his stubborn insistence on doing things his way. He grew up working in his dad’s radio and TV repair shop, which started him on his lifelong journey as an engineer.
On February 9th, 1963 he married Anne Spadaro of Cincinnati, OH and they started their lives together in New Jersey before moving back to Wisconsin in 1964. He began working at MSOE in 1964 and worked there for almost 45 years, retiring in 2008, saying he knew it was time to retire when he began teaching the grandchildren of his earlier students. During his time at MSOE, he earned a Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering, was a member of the Jarvik 7 artificial heart transplant team, and went on to found the Biomedical Engineering program where he was the program chair for over 20 years.
As a lover of education, Dad’s favorite hobby was lecturing, with Mom often saying that he spoke to her in 50-minute increments. Moreover, six of his seven children graduated from college; each child giving him a large collegiate mug from their alma mater that he proudly displayed in the kitchen.
Even outside of the classroom, his passion for teaching shone through. After he became a soccer referee, he quickly became an assessor using his teaching skills to help educate the next generation of referees. Teaching even bled into his love of skiing by becoming the ski instructor for the Fox Hill Ski Area club. Of course, he spent plenty of time teaching his own children all sorts of valuable and often unforgettable life lessons. His kids all clearly remember a “Dad lecture” filled with solid life advice and sprinkled with plenty of pessimism, such as “Life is not fair” and “When all else fails, read the directions,” but it is easily the “So did you get [someone] pregnant yesterday?” speech given on each of their 18th birthdays that will be retold for generations to come.
He is preceded in death by his parents Vincent and Mary (Piccini), his brother Edward, son Dominic, and son-in-law Todd Tingblad. He is survived by his wife Anne (Spadaro), daughters Christine and Laura Canino and Jeanine Pruitt (James), sons Kit (Jenna), Jamie (Janet), and Rob, as well as his 6 grandchildren: Brisen and Jamis Koch, Marina (Jacob) Tingblad, Frank & Mira Canino, and Cara “C.J.” Canino.
A funeral Mass will be offered at St. Mary's Visitation Catholic Parish, 1260 Church St., Elm Grove, at 11:00 AM on Feb. 17th, 2024, with a reception to follow at Yemas Family Restaurant. In lieu of flowers, please go to msoe.edu/giving and click on the Give Now link and indicate that you would like to direct your gift to the Vincent Canino Memorial Fund.
