The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
‘His home was open to everyone’
Former ShopRite partner and chief financial officer dies at 92
STAMFORD — Tom Cingari said the five cornerstones of his father’s life were “family, faith, friends, company and community.”
His father, Sam (Salvatore) A. Cingari Jr., former partner and chief financial officer of Grade A Markets and the Cingari Family ShopRites of southwestern Connecticut, died Wednesday at the age of 92. The company has 12 supermarkets across the state.
Though he left his post as CFO about two years ago, Sam Cingari was constantly at the markets, until about two weeks before his death.
“He was the out front guy,” Tom Cingari said. “He was customer facing for (more than 70 years). He knew more people in this town. He didn’t only know them. He knew their families.”
The Cingari family is a towering presence in Stamford. Sam’s brother, Rocco “Rocky” Cingari, was the former CEO and president of Grade A ShopRite, who died in 2019 — five months after stepping down from his post with the company. Tom Cingari is the current president and CEO of the company.
But Tom said his father wasn’t just a Connecticut businessman. He was a servant of his community, beloved by his family and friends.
Sam Cingari was born in Stamford on Oct. 15, 1930, and was the youngest of six children. He graduated from Stamford High School, class of 1949.
He was a lifelong Stamford resident and, according to a statement from the company, “active not only at ShopRite/Grade A Markets where he was often seen greeting customers in the aisles but also in the greater Stamford community at large.”
The Cingari family was honored at Stamford’s St. Patrick’s Day parade for their impact on the community, including their contributions to the Food Bank of Lower Fairfield County, where Sam was a trustee and a president of the board.
Though his father had six children, Tom Cingari said, “the food bank was kind like of one of our other siblings.”
Sam Cingari was involved with a host of other local organizations, including the YMCA, the Knight of Columbus and State Street Debating Society.
“There are very few organizations in the city of Stamford that were not beneficiaries,” Tom Cingari said.
Mary Donovan said her father always felt it was his mission to serve others in as many ways as possible.
“I would use the phrase ‘a humble servant of the Lord,’ ” she said. “That was who I believe he was that was at his core.”
Donovan said her father also reached out to help individuals as well.
“There were things my father did for people that no one will ever know. “The people came to him off street — the people who just got out of rehab and needed a job. He was the one people felt they could go to if they needed help.”
In his personal life, Tom Cingari said, his father was warm and welcoming to most who knew him. He remembers that, growing up, there always seemed to be a gathering at his house.
“His home was open to everyone,” he said. “He used to say ‘Just come. Bring your friends.’ They were always welcome.”
A Mass of Christian Burial for Sam Cingari will take place at 11 a.m. Wednesday at St Mary’s Church, 566 Elm St., Stamford.