Beloved Bayside Barber Angelo Vellucci Dies At 72

BAYSIDE, NY – A beloved Bayside barber who cut hair on Bell Boulevard for decades died Wednesday, Feb. 6. Angelo Vellucci was 72.

Vellucci had worked at Hair Studio 41 for the past 10 years after moving from Pace Barber Shop when it closed its Bell Boulevard location. His work station became a shrine to the man Thursday, complete with his nameplate and a photo collage. His colleagues started a fundraiser to help the barber's family with funeral expenses.

Vellucci was born in Santi Cosma e Damiano, Italy, and moved to Corona, New York, when he was 14 years old. He was a Vietnam War veteran and earned the Meritorious Unit Citation medal. He had been battling multiple myeloma, a rare blood cancer. He is survived by his wife of 41 years, two children and two grandchildren.

"He will be remembered for his infectious personality and huge heart. All who loved him will never forget his tenacity, wit, and charm, but most of all the love and generosity he gave them," his family wrote in a statement. "He loved his wife Laura with every bone in his body. He called her multiple times a day and paced the whole first floor of the house until she came home from the supermarket."

The salon, on 41st Ave., described Vellucci on its website as "the best Italian-styled barber in Bayside (perhaps the world, but we’re still checking on that)." David Jacobs, who has worked at Hair Studio 41 since 2008 and is the owner's son, said Vellucci was always the first one to work and the last to leave. Vellucci started there in 2012, according to Jacobs, and had a memorable debut.

"The first day he came to work was Hurricane Sandy. I couldn't come in because my whole house got flooded," Jacobs told Patch. "He had to run the show for a week by himself. That was when we knew we could trust him, that he's the guy."

Vellucci was known in the area as "Mush," Jacobs added, for his bad gambling luck.

"He loved making antipasto platters and called his sauce a masterpiece," his family wrote in a statement. "Angelo was a committed, loyal family man (just as he was to his lotto numbers). Faithfulness to the important people in his life could be seen in the way he maintained ties with his childhood friends or friendships of 30, 40, and 50 years."

Funeral visiting hours are on Sunday, Feb. 10 from 2 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. at Frederick Funeral Home, located at 192-15 Northern Boulevard in Flushing. The funeral mass for Vellucci will be Monday, Feb. 11 at 9:45 a.m. at American Martyrs Roman Catholic Church at 79-43 Bell Boulevard.

(Lead photo via Hair Studio 41, used with permission)