William P. Bill Rossi

William P. "Bill" Rossi,, 94, husband of Lee (Rue) Rossi. Born in Warwick, he was the son of the late William A. and Beatrice (Smith) Rossi. Bill lived the music of many eras and started playing at the age of thirteen. He attended the New England Conservatory before enlisting in the US Army Air Corp during WWII. He founded and conducted the Rhode Island Youth Stage Band which appeared in several Newport Jazz Festivals in the early 1960’s, and the band also appeared at the New York World’s Fair. Mr. Rossi was a member of the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Wakefield. He was the father of Paula Rossi-Wagner and her late husband Thomas Jr., William T. Rossi and his wife Maryann, Patrick A. Rossi and his wife Shirley and Richard A. Rossi and his wife Rosemarie; grandfather of nine and great grandfather of twelve; brother of Roberta Rossi Palm and her husband Carl; and uncle to several nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held at 9 am Friday in the Avery-Storti Funeral Home, 88 Columbia St., Wakefield. Burial will be in the RI Veterans Cemetery, Exeter. Visiting hours are Thursday, 4-7 pm. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 245 Waterman Street, Suite 306, Providence, RI 02906.