Salvatore Ingrande

Ingrande, Salvatore (Sal) Joseph, 70, of St. Petersburg passed away unexpectedly on June 29. Born in 1956, in San Diego, California to Eileen Marie and Leonard Joseph Ingrande, he moved to the East Coast as a young boy and graduated from Dartmouth High School in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. He followed his family's generational legacy as a commercial fisherman, earning his captain's license while honing his talents as a carpenter and craftsman. He was as likely to be seen mending nets by hand as he was negotiating with international seafood buyers. In his downtime, from childhood, he was always on the golf course; first as a hardworking caddy, then as a dedicated amateur golfer who could be found (and heard) over the years at Mangrove Bay Golf Course and the Vinoy Golf Club. In the mid 1970s, he moved with his family to St. Pete, Florida, where he met his wife Karyn. They were married in 1979 and started their family in 1980. The Ingrandes moved to the close-knit waterfront neighborhood of Tanglewood in 1988, blessing their children and grandchildren with endless opportunities to make mischief in and on the water.

As the captain of the F/V Eileen Marie and a member of the Diane Marie Fishing leadership team, Sal was a cornerstone of the Atlantic commercial tuna fishing industry. An entrepreneur like his father, he remained heavily involved in the seafood industry in the Northeast for decades after retiring from fishing.

Sal was an extroverted family man with deep-rooted loyalty to his entire extended family, from his beloved godparents Sal and Lucille Freitas in San Diego to his siblings and their children and grandchildren. He loved food, relished eating frog legs and chicken feet, could not say no to candy or ice cream, and made a mean root beer float.

Despite all the time he spent at sea, or perhaps because of it, Sal rarely boated for fun. But he had no shortage of passions. Among too many hobbies to count, he loved collecting things, cooking for his family, golfing with his friends at the Vinoy, watching football and going on adventures with his wife, napping on the couch, and perhaps above all — making people laugh (at any cost). Sal became a grandfather at 50 and enjoyed many milestones and holidays with his grandsons over the years.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Eileen and Leonard Ingrande, and his elder sibling Salvatore Joseph. Sal is survived by his beloved wife Karyn Ingrande; children Maria Ingrande Mora, Nicholas (Katy) Ingrande, and Andrea (Tim) Ingrande; grandchildren Simon and Maxwell Mora and Everett Ingrande; siblings Chris (Dawn) Ingrande and Diane (Sam) Maiolo, and his adoring nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts and uncles.

Sal's family will hold a private celebration of his life, but encourages you to do something you love in his honor. Better yet, be a smartass while you're doing it.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to First Tee St. Petersburg: firstteestpetersburg.org.