September 12, 2011
For S. Vincent Barone ’39C, taking a quick nap on the subway while
traveling from his home on the lower East Side of Manhattan to the
Lewis Avenue campus of St. John’s University was an absolute
necessity.
As an upperclassman, Barone supported himself by playing clarinet
and saxophone in the Al Green Orchestra, a popular “big band” that
was a part of the exciting nightclub scene in New York during the
1930s. Although it wasn’t easy to balance the rigors of being a
full-time college student with the demanding schedule of a
professional musician, Barone looks back fondly on those busy but
happy years.
“I never
got home before one o’clock in the morning, and since I had to be
at St. John’s for early classes, I hardly ever got much sleep,” he
recalled. “I commuted by subway from Manhattan to Brooklyn, and
even though I tried to do some studying on the train, I’d
frequently end up closing my eyes during the trip. During my last
year at St. John’s I played at a nightclub where Jackie Gleason was
the comedian, and I got to know Jackie very well. Those were great
times for me.”
His status as a musician was soon replaced by that of a diplomat as
Barone began what would become a lifelong career in government
service. Soon after accepting a position with the U.S. Foreign
Service, he received his first overseas posting to the Republic of
Panama.
Accompanied by his wife, Jeri, he had no idea that they were
embarking on an assignment that would change their lives
forever.
“In 1952 my wife and I decided to spend Christmas giving out
presents at an orphanage in Costa Rica,” he said. “We became
attached to a very young boy named Vincent and made a commitment to
adopt him. Jeri and I were so happy about this that the following
year we adopted a Costa Rican girl named Valentina. We believed
that by giving these children a better life we’d be doing what
Jesus and St. Vincent de Paul wanted us to do.”
Barone was
never a typical diplomat. He saw service to his country as a
special calling, one that allowed him countless opportunities to
put his Vincentian values into practice by going above and
beyond what was expected of him. While his primary responsibilities
were to promote U.S. interests abroad, he and his wife always went
out of their way to do whatever they could to meet the needs of the
poor, the youth and the elderly of the local populations.
During his posting to the Dominican Republic in the chaos
immediately following the assassination of military strongman
Rafael Trujillo, Barone was so concerned about the dangers of the
ensuing civil unrest that he made personal arrangements for a
number of students to leave their unsafe homeland and attend school
in Puerto Rico. At another time, while serving in Spain, he was
instrumental in assisting scores of destitute Cuban refugees who
had fled to Madrid to escape Castro’s regime to make a new home for
themselves in the United States.
After three decades of diplomatic service, this patriotic and
outgoing alumnus decided to retire. As he had throughout his
professional life, Barone continued to devote himself to serving
the needs of others. He became active in a variety of Catholic
charitable organizations and spent time volunteering to help blind
residents of his local community.
When his beloved wife passed away in 2008, Barone began writing
poetry as a way to acknowledge his everlasting love for the woman
who meant so much to him for more than 66 years. One of his most
recent poems, “The World Unknown” appeared in The Green Valley
[AZ] News in June, 2011. He is currently in the process of
organizing material for an anthology of his works that he hopes to
have published in the near future.
“Most of my poems have a love theme,” noted the 92 year old poet.
“I dwell on this aspect of life because I believe that it gives the
reader a feeling of tranquility and happiness. For all of my life,
I acted on the belief that if we love each other, we’ll make the
world a better place for all of us. I learned that a long time ago
at St. John’s, and have always tried to live my life to reflect
those ideals and values.”