Joseph Gerald Cossidenti, II

Joseph Gerald Cossidenti II, 72, of New York, New York, passed away suddenly on September 22, 2025. Joe was born on September 3, 1953 on a U.S. Army base in Trieste, Italy, where his father, Joseph Gerald Cossidenti, a career man in the Army, was stationed, joined by his wife Marjorie Johnson Cossidenti and two-year-old daughter, Deborah. Joe’s father retired a major in the U.S. Army. He and Joe’s mother, who had been a WAC when she met her future husband, are interred together in the Columbarium at Arlington National Cemetery, where their son, Joe, who loved them very much, will be joining them soon. He was a veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Mark Coker, Joe’s caring husband and friend, is devastated by his loss. He remembers Joe as always upbeat, a wonderful storyteller with a great personality and one who always spoke his mind. “His friends throughout the world are lifelong. He loved his family and his dogs, Tickles, Mealla and Charlie. His family and friends are absolutely heartbroken,” he said.

Joe was well-known as a hairstylist and colorist specializing in creating individual hair fashions for clients, primarily in New York and Naples, FL, where he had a wide clientele. He was particularly recognized as a colorist who had developed a scientific approach to color after years’ working in some of New York’s preeminent salons and in color laboratories where he helped develop hair colorings and treatments. He always said he learned in the fashion trenches, as a serious stylist and colorist at some of New York’s most famous salons including Beth Minardi, John Freida, Allure, and Sak’s Fifth Avenue.

Known for his dry wit and customer service, Joe built a devoted roster of diverse personalities including Wall Street executives, film and TV greats, media figures, billionaires and just plain “regular people” as he called them. His clients included stars Jessica Parker, Julianne More, Brad Pitt, Joy Behar, TV and Radio’s Laura Ingraham, Gabrielle Union, Maya Rudolph of Saturday Night Live, Maria Burton, daughter of the late Elizabeth Taylor, and royalty, including Her Serene Highness Princess Rita Boncompagni Ludovici of Rome (actress, model and real estate broker Rita Jenrette of Washington, D.C. who married into nobility). Special events including weddings in The Hamptons, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week with Vera Wang and Michael Kors, and styling models featured on the cover of the Bathing Suit Issue of Sports Illustrated were included in his adventures.

Most important in Joe’s life were his friends and family, including his sister Deborah Cossidenti Johnson of Orange Park, FL, nephew Aaron Johnson and his wife Rachel and daughter Aurora of Frederick, MD, and his Aunt Lois and Uncle Richard Sabatino of Naples, FL., who thought of him as more than a nephew, more like a third son.

Memorial donations may be made to the association of your choice, with Joe appreciating a little pat on the head of a dog as you walk down a street.