Emilio E. (Lee) Fiorino
Fiorino, Emilio E. (Lee)
Lee lived a long, healthful, prolific, and vibrant life until his passing on May 22, at age 96. Born of Italian immigrants Emilio Fiorino and Ernestina Tessitore Fiorino in Little Italy, New York City, on Jan. 18, 1925, Lee served with the 204th Combat Engineers in Europe during World War II. After the war, he met the love of his life, M. Madeleine Turgeon, and married her on Sept. 24, 1949. As a young draftsman, he was selected to draw up safety upgrades for the Empire State Building’s observation deck. Recruited by renowned Denver architect Temple Buell in 1955, he moved to Colorado to realize his ambition of becoming a prominent architect himself, and to raise a family in the wide-open spaces of the West. In 1965 Lee designed and built a custom home for his fast-growing family near Parker, Colo. One of his architectural design creations includes Denver’s Tiffany Plaza. He retired to Tucson, Ariz., fulfilling a lifelong dream of living in the desert. There he continued his passion for photography and watercolor painting, receiving several local and national awards for his work. His deep, abiding love and appreciation of music was a hallmark of his life and inspired the same within each of his children. A man of impeccable integrity, he was dearly loved by many and will be sorely missed. He is survived by his wife of 71 years, Madeleine, their five children, Robert, Paul, Michelle, John, and Ted, 11 grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his name to the Rocky Mountain Down Syndrome Association at www.rmdsa.org/donate, which happens to be located in the majestic building that he designed.
Celebrations of Life will be held on Saturday, July 10, at 2 p.m. in Tucson, Ariz. at the SaddleBrooke MountainView Ballroom, and Sunday, July 18, at 4 p.m. in Denver at the Eisenhower Chapel at 293 Roslyn St. For more information about Lee or the Celebration of Life, go to bit.ly/EEFiorino.