WW II "codebreaker" passes away at 94 years old.

Joseph R. Zibelli, from Mt. Vernon, N.Y. and West Palm Beach passed away peacefully on Dec. 18th, 2015 while at Good Samaritan's Hospice. He is survived by his wife Naomi and his sons Richard and Peter Zibelli and daughter Janet Zibelli and granddaughter Julia McCarrel. He will join his son Douglas, who passed on 4/2003 from pneumonia and grandson TJ, who passed on 7-6-2011 from Leukemia. Joe Zibelli was born in Mt. Vernon, NY on Oct 18, 1921. He graduated from Fordham University in 1942. In 1949, he graduated from New York University Law School. In 1943, he attended Georgetown School of Foreign Service while in military service during WW II. He learned Japanese and became part of the Signal Intelligence team at Arlington Hall, Virginia. The goal of the team was to intercept the Japanese codes and ciphers, which they did. They translated many intercepted secret messages often from the Japanese high command. For 3 years, they helped break the war codes that played a major role in defeating imperial Japan. The secrecy of their work was unprecedented. Their communications went only to other members of the code breaking unit or to President Roosevelt. The Navy had a similar team in Hawaii and the two teams made up the nucleus of what would later become the NSA (National Security Agency). After the war, he married his army "sweetheart," Naomi Fitzgerald and they had 4 children. He practiced law for more than 50 years in Mt. Vernon, NY and served as Special Counsel to Mt. Vernon Board of Education for 14 years. He was General Partner in Stonycrest Construction Corp., builders of custom built homes in Westchester County for 30 years. He and his wife were avid golfers and they were members at Leewood Golf Club in Eastchester, NY, for 38 years and served on their Board of Governors for 3 of those years. They joined Atlantis Golf Club, Atlantis, FL in 1991. Joe was a member of Mt Vernon and Westchester County Bar Assn. He was also a member of Kiwanis, Elks, Exchange and Italian Civic Assn., Mt. Vernon, NY. In Florida, he proudly volunteered for Hospice of Palm Beach. In lieu of flowers, the family request s that donations be made to Hospice of Palm Beach or Honor Flight in his memory. Funeral services will be held Monday, Dec. 28, 2015 at 9:30am at Palm Beach National Chapel, Lake Worth, FL. Burial will follow at South Florida National Cemetery at 10:45am with military honors by U.S. Army.