Hamden Death Notices: Feb. 1 Through Feb. 10, 2026

HAMDEN, CT — Below are recent death notices from Hamden.

Salvatore P. Barese, 77, died Feb. 1, 2026. A U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War, he was a retired custodian for the Town of Hamden who maintained municipal buildings including the Town Hall and Senior Center and co-owned the Jack Kenney Green Derby Café with his wife for many years.

Sharon K. Napolitano, 63, died Feb. 5, 2026. She was a writer and editor whose career included reporting and photography for the Cedar Valley Times, staff reporting for the Milford Citizen, communications and editing for health organizations including Logical Communications, Pharmedica Communications, Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, and the Yale-New Haven Health System, served as editor of Saint Raphael’s Better Health magazine, and was active in church communications, newsletter design, and event hosting.

Anthony Joseph Esposito, 91, died Feb. 5, 2026. He worked 36 years as a crew dispatcher for Metro-North Railroad, was an avid athlete in baseball, basketball, and swimming, and enjoyed watching sports, horse and dog racing, Jai-alai, scratch-off tickets, and treats brought by his children.

Kong Lee, 89, died Feb. 5, 2026. He worked as a chef at Far East Chinese Restaurant and later as a sheet metal worker at Sims Company for nine years, and enjoyed walking the Farmington Trail, watching Westerns on TV, and following current affairs.

Joseph Paul (Joe) Derbacher, 98, died Feb. 8, 2026. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1950–1954 including the first NATO mission in Europe, worked for Western Electric and SNET as a stock maintenance manager, and was active in parish life, the Holy Name Society Duck Bowling League, Eucharistic ministry, and supported St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

Frank P. DeLuigi, 98, died Feb. 10, 2026. He was a James Hillhouse High School graduate who served in the U.S. Army and worked 36 years for U.S. Repeating Arms until retiring in 1990.

Kenneth J. Schmidt, 75, died Feb. 10, 2026. He was a Cheshire Academy graduate and Vietnam War veteran who worked in the family business Formatron before founding his own custom cabinetry company, KCI, pursued woodworking, competed as a professional heavyweight boxer known as “The Hamden Hammer,” became a sports reporter for the New Haven Register covering title fights, co-founded Ring One Boxing mentoring youth in boxing, and was involved in the family restaurant, the Pumpernickel Pub.