F rancesco “F rank” G I o I oso

P. Gioioso & s ons , inc .

We are deeply saddened to announce that on April 12, 2023 our longtime member and friend Frank Gioioso passed away at the age of 80 at his home in Walpole, MA, surrounded by his loving family.

Frank is survived by his beloved wife Carmela “Lina” (D’Ambrosio), and his four children; Dr. Cristina GioiosoDatta, and her husband Dr. Rupak Datta, of Woodbridge, CT; Gianna Gioioso of Dedham; Dr. Valeria Gioioso of San Diego, CA; and Francesco Biagio Gioioso of Norfolk, MA. Cherished Nonno of Kavi, Chiara, and Cali Datta. Doting son-in-law of Giovanna and the late Armando D”Ambrosio of Winthrop, MA. Caring brother of Giuseppe Gioioso of Braintree, Maria DiNanno of Norwood, and Elena Adgate of Braintree, as well as the late Luigi Gioioso, Enrico Gioioso, Tommaso Gioioso, Filomena Colasante, and Mario Gioioso. Also survived by many loving nieces, nephews, grand nieces, grand nephews, great nieces, and great nephews.

Frank was born on February 16, 1943 to the late Pelino and Giovanna (D’Amore) Gioioso in the small hamlet of Viano in Filetto, Italy. In 1958, Frank immigrated to the United States and joined his family who had established roots in Dorchester, MA.

Frank’s early years were a balance of education and work. In 1962, Pelino, Frank, and four of his brothers established the family company, P. Gioioso & Sons, Inc. The ambitious young entrepreneur was eager to support the company in the role of Treasurer and General Manager. Frank went on to seek higher education, earning his Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering in 1969 and subsequently his Master’s Degree in 1971 in Structural Engineering, both from Northeastern University, of which he was extremely proud.

Frank was a member of UCANE and NUCA, holding various officer positions and receiving numerous awards. He used the skills and knowledge he gained over the years in the field and at school to continue to grow the family business, eventually becoming CEO, a position he held until his passing.

Outside of work, Frank had many hobbies including tending to his garden where he grew zucchini, eggplant, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, butternut squash, and strawberries among many other delicious fruits and vegetables that his family enjoyed.

Frank was also extremely generous, supporting innumerable charities and helping those less fortunate than him without hesitation. Memorial donations in Frank’s memory may be made to the Italian Home for Children (https://www.italianhome.org/ or Tunnel to Towers Foundation (https//t2t.org/ donate/).

The Officers, Board of Directors, Members, and Staff of UCANE extend their deepest sympathies and condolences to the entire Gioioso family. Frank’s years of experience and knowledge of our industry brought him the unequaled respect of his peers, who feel a deep and personal sadness at his passing. n

with UCANE’s Officers and Board Members

Congratulations on your recent election to the UCANE Board of Directors. Please give us some information on your background and tell us how you started in the construction business?

I was fresh out of high school, knowing college wasn’t for me, I started my career working for my father who owned a machine shop in Worcester, MA. My passion growing up was working in all aspects of construction. In 2003 my father-in-law John Jolin, who owned Jolin Paving & Excavating, made me an offer to come to work at his company starting as a laborer.

I accepted the offer and worked my way up doing anything he asked me to do. Eventually I was driving trucks and learned to run all the heavy equipment and I loved every minute of it.

How long have you been with Jolin Paving & Excavating, Inc. and what is your current role in the company ?

I have been with Jolin for 20 years. John Jolin has given me the opportunity to learn all aspects of running a small family business from bidding the work to managing the work to collecting the final retainage and everything in-between. My current title is Superintendent of Operations.

What types of construction does Jolin specialize in and in what areas of New England do you pursue this work?

We perform all types of underground utility work and site work mostly in the Worcester County area. We do a lot of water, sewer, and drain work both in the public sector and for residential and commercial clients. We also do asphalt paving for commercial parking lots and private driveways. We have a lot of experience working in urban streets and we respond to emergency service calls for broken utility lines for the City of Worcester and several other area towns.

Jolin performs turnkey snow removal operations for several large commercial customers in the City. We have recently purchased a “state-of-the-art” vacuum excavator to assist our own crews and which we offer on a rental basis throughout New England.

How long has your company been a UCANE member and why did you decide to serve on continued on page 48

Under the Hard Hat continued from page 47

the UCANE Board of Directors?

We joined UCANE in 2019. From a business stand-point, I wanted to learn as much about the utility construction and excavation industry as I could so I could bring that knowledge back to our own company. Getting to know our business peers and exchanging ideas has been very rewarding. By joining the Board of Directors it gives me an opportunity to give back a little to the industry. Also finding out that other companies share some of the same problems we do is somewhat comforting. It’s quite amazing working alongside so many great competitors toward mutual goals that will improve the industry for all of us.

The construction industry has certainly seen some challenges over the last few years. Some issues brought on by the COVID pandemic are still affecting parts of our industry. How do you see the New England horizontal and heavy construction market shaping up for 2023 and what are the biggest challenges contractors might be facing in 2023?

Looking back, I think most of us in the industry weathered the long and unchartered pandemic much better than any of us anticipated at the outset. It certainly brought on some challenges like price volatility, supply chain issues, and changes in how we do business that we will carry into 2023. The biggest mystery for Jolin, and I think for many contractors is, “What happened to the pre-pandemic workforce?”

Finding reliable people to work in the construction industry, especially younger people opting to want a construction career, is the greatest challenge I see going forward.

I think the average American has finally awakened to the importance of a modern infrastructure in order to advance our economy and, as a result, the federal government has certainly stepped up with big dollar investments. Jolin has seen the bid opportunities in Central Mass. picking up. We have had a busy winter (even without snow!) and already have a good backlog going into the new season. Our company is bullish on 2023 and beyond for our family business and for other contractors that build infrastructure. n