Middletown Mourns Longtime Lincroft Little League Coach, Umpire Joe Valentino

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — This week, the Middletown community is mourning a man who was a Boy Scout volunteer, a volunteer baseball and softball coach, an umpire for Lincroft Little League and an all-around beloved member of the community.

Joseph "Joe" Valentino died unexpectedly Nov. 29. He is predeceased by his beloved wife, who died this summer. The couple is survived by their three young adult children, who they raised in the Lincroft section of Middletown.

Valentino was a volunteer coach for Lincroft Little League for more than 20 years, and he was one of the most regular baseball/softball umpires in town.

"He was such a good umpire that teams down in Lakewood would request him, and only him, to umpire their games," said Paul Miller, a fellow youth baseball coach in Middletown. "He just really, really, really knew the game of baseball and was good at it."

Valentino was also head coach of the Lincroft Lightning travel baseball team, made up of 15- and 16-year-old boys. The team won two championships under his leadership.

"He was tough, but he was fair," said Miller. "He was the kind of guy who if a kid wanted extra help, Joe would stay for batting practice. He coordinated all the practices, all the games. He would even organize pick-up games just to give the boys the chance to play ball."

Many of his former players, now in college or since moved out of town, will return for his funeral, which will be this weekend. A visitation for Valentino will be from 2-4 p.m. and 6-9 p.m. this Friday at John E. Day Funeral Home Red Bank. His funeral mass will be at 10 a.m. this Saturday, Dec. 6 at St. James Catholic church in Red Bank.

Valentino's volunteerism did not end there: He was a Boy Scout leader, and his son was an Eagle Scout. He mentored multiple Middletown boys as they achieved their Eagle Scout badge, and he also oversaw and led week-long camping trips into the woods, said Miller. Also, during the summer he worked in the town's summer camps at Thompson Park, where he specifically worked with children and teens who had special needs. He taught them baseball and softball.

Valentino grew up in New York City and settled in Monmouth County; he worked in banking. He was a lifelong Mets and Yankees fan, and avidly followed every game.

Valentino lost his mother early in life from heart failure, Miller said, and that was a big reason why he always stayed fit and healthy, and was always impeccably dressed.

"He was a regular marathon runner. He and his wife used to run marathons together," said Miller. "He was so fit he was able to participate in a charity climb of the Empire State building, and he came in among the top finishers ... The man was the Christian definition of what a husband was. He had eyes for no other. He idolized his wife. I truly believe he died of a broken heart."

Joseph "Joe" Valentino Obituary

Another friend and fellow Lincroft resident, Ed Cordiano, created this GoFundMe for Valentino's three surviving children, all in their early 20s: https://gofund.me/44c0fa876 The three siblings lost both their parents within less than a year.