Photo by Gage Vota St. Clairsville Sunrise Rotary Club honors the late Mayor, Robert Vincenzo with a bench at Memorial Park.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE – The late Mayor Robert Vincenzo was honored by the Sunrise Rotary Club with a memorial bench.

Vincenzo’s family, friends and colleagues gathered at Memorial Park on Thursday evening to honor the longtime mayor.

The bench will sit just above the third-base line at the high school baseball field at Memorial Park.

Vincenzo’s daughter, Barb Vincenzo-Ellis, said her father loved watching his two sons, Don and Bob Jr., then his grandchildren and even great-grandchildren play baseball on that field. Vincenzo would always sit where the bench was placed, which the family believes is a fitting memorial.

“He always sat at third base. And Niko [great-grandson] does play third base, so it’s always a plus because he was right there,” she said. “He loved baseball and enjoyed it. And I know he was even here when he didn’t have any grandkids to watch, he would be here, always supporting the kids of St. Clairsville.”

Vincenzo died this past April at 92 years old. He began working in city politics by serving on council in 1978. From there, he became council president and then mayor of St. Clairsville for 24 years, from 1992 through his retirement in 2016.

Sunrise Rotary Club President Bob Stewart said Vincenzo was a longtime member of the club, and when he died, the club knew it wanted to do something to honor him.

“He was so important to our club, and we decided that we wanted to do something to honor him,” Stewart said. “So we talked to the family to make sure this would be okay, but we wanted something that would really represent Bob Vincenzo and some of the things he loved. One of the things he loved was baseball and St. Clairsville baseball.”

He added that Vincenzo spent countless hours at the field over the years, so the club and the family agreed that a bench at the field would be a perfect way to honor him.

The bench is made out of recycled material and sits at the top of the baseball field.

“We wanted to do something that would be both environmentally friendly and something that he would be proud of,” Stewart said.

Vincenzo’s wife, Lorrinda Saxby-Vincenzo, said the memorial means so much not only to her but to the entire family.

“This means so much to the family, to all of us. He was such a servant leader and always thought first of the community,” she said. “He never talked about politics but just what’s going to be best for the city and what’s going to be best for the kids in the community.”

Saxby-Vincenzo added that she is grateful for the club honoring Vincenzo in such a way.

“Oh my gosh, I’m just thrilled that the rotary decided to do this in his memory and his honor, that means so much,” she said. “Rotary meant a lot to him, we even went to some of the international conferences.”

His son, Don Vincenzo, added that the memorial means so much to the family because Vincenzo always sat at the exact spot where the bench will be.

“Rotary is such a great organization, everything they do for the city of St Clairsville and everywhere else is amazing,” Don said. “My dad would be here when my brother and I were playing high school baseball, and then his grandsons played high school baseball here and now he has a great grandson playing. So it just means a lot because this is where he always sat.”

Bob Jr. added that he believes their father would be so proud of the bench.

“I think Dad would be so proud right now, with all of the use that we got from this field from sons, grandsons, great-grandsons, I just think about how many people from our family just use this field from baseball games to Easter egg hunts,” he said. “And I just want to thank everyone who made this possible.”