Carmine (Charlie) Monaco of Chicopee, Mass., died Dec. 22 at his daughter Karen Lodge’s home in Oak Bluffs, with his family by his side. He was 91.

A retired machinist with 42 years of service to Savage Arms of Chicopee and Westfield, Mass., and a World War II veteran, Mr. Monaco was born in Torino di Sangro, Italy on September 30, 1920. He emigrated to the United States at age 13, 10 years after his father emigrated. His father, Guiseppe, came to the U.S. to earn enough to move his family from Italy to America. Unfortunately, the Great Depression stalled the family’s emigration until 1933. Mr. Monaco became a lifelong resident of Chicopee, Mass. after his arrival through Ellis Island and ultimately earned his U.S. citizenship.

Mr. Monaco proudly served his new country in the U.S. Navy during World War II as an aviation ordinanceman with a Naval air crew protecting the North and South American coastlines.

In his native Italy, one of his first jobs at age 11 was a two-day mule trip from Torino di Sangro to Vasto to spend the week serving as a carpenter’s apprentice, a skill which served him well later in life. He worked tirelessly throughout his life to provide for his family and exhibited, above all, strong character, work ethic, and respect and compassion for others.

Mr. Monaco enjoyed cooking, gardening, shellfishing, going to the beach on the Vineyard and most of all, his family. He was a communicant of St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Willamansett, Mass.

He will be remembered as a hard-working man who needed only to look at something once and would strive to create a product of comparable or better quality on his own. His family counted themselves fortunate to have had a true “Papa” in their lives.

Predeceased by his wife, Irene Monaco, Mr. Monaco is survived by his brother, Alfred Monaco of Chicopee; son, Gerry Monaco of Blackstone, Mass.; daughters Nadine Monaco and Karen Lodge, both of Martha’s Vineyard; and five grandsons, Conor Lodge, Tristan Lodge, and Devon Lodge, all of Oak Bluffs, as well as Mathew Monaco of Oak Island, N.C. and Gianni Monaco of Norton, Mass.

Funeral Services will be private.