Vincent Anthony W. Integlia

Vinny A.W. Integlia, 55, beloved son of Mojca (Sencar) Integlia and Anthony J. Integlia and beloved brother of Dr. Mark J. Integlia and Sonja M. Boyland died on Thursday, May 15, 2014 at the Kindred Hospital, Tucson, AZ after a long and very severe illness. He was born in Newport, RI on February 25, 1959.Upon graduation from Rogers High School, where he excelled in music and was a member of Rogers High School Band and Jazz Ensemble, he was going to embark on a music career at the Berkeley School of Music in Boston. Fate had intervened: at Third Beach in Middletown, RI, while immersing himself in the ocean without his hands in front of him and hitting only water not ocean floor with his chin, his head was thrown backwards and he became spinal cord injured. Inspite of this major setback in every which way (almost losing his life and learning how to live again) and the enormous loss of time within which he had two major surgeries, he was able to pursue his college studies. First at Salve Regina University and then at the University of Illinois from where he graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism and Broadcasting in 1986. He was the first quadraplegic to do so. While at the University of Illinois he played sports including basketball, football and table tennis. He also exchanged his electric chair for a basketball one. Upon returning to Newport after graduation, he was eager to find employment. Eventually, he was hired as a feature writer for the Newport Navalog (a newspaper produced out of the Public Affairs office at the Naval Education and Training Center) and a writer for a software company in Middletown. In 1992, Vinny began a new career in desktop publishing at Salve Regina University. A few years later, with the help of coworkers, he researched and obtained $135,000 Multimedia Grant for the university. It created the MultiMedia Area of which Integlia became the supervisor for three years.MultiMedia was a unique, new concept with which Integlia used to create interactive presentations. He also taught several three credit courses in Computer Science.At the same time he enrolled in a Master of Arts Program, taking evening courses after working all day and earned a Master's Degree in Human Resource Management.In 2001 Vinny became a Human Resource Representative at Rhode Island Hospital (at Brown University affiliated teaching hospital) in Providence, RI. Driving from Portsmouth to Providence each day in a specially modified van, he assisted his department using MultiMedia technology and resolving conflicts between management, (he was assigned six areas) and unions. In 2004 Vinny left Rhode Island with his parents and moved to Tucson, Arizona in an effort to simplify his life. Six weeks after arrival, Vinny was diagnosed with Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Maxillary Sinus. He was operated on at Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix, lost his left eye and his left cheek was reconstructed. He was also told that he would not survive. After three months of radiation, he had to learn how to live again in a new way. Since he has had a blemish in the retina of his remaining eye, he now had a problem seeing. Although he could not drive his van or work any longer (which he loved) he began an advocacy group, had a radio show and created his own website theartofsurvival.net. The website encompasses his life, his accomplishments and also promotes the book You and Me Against the World, which he and his mother had written with the help of Jack Galvin, his high school English teacher and his friend. Throughout the many years since his injury he also assisted his mother in creating and running a foundation named after him, Vinnys Spinal Cord Foundation. It raised money to help the newly injured and to fund spinal cord research.Vinny was also a promotional speaker and the subject of feature stories produced by the media. Just before his illness, Vinny was asked by the Arizona Division of Medicaid to go to Washington, DC to testify to the National Advisory Board and speak on the behalf of the Arizona Division regarding the hiring of caregivers by the severely disabled directly, not through agencies. Besides his parents Mojca Sonja (Sencar) Integlia and Anthony J. Integlia of Tucson, AZ and formerly of Newport County, he is survived by his brother, Dr. Mark J. Integlia and his wife, Debbie, niece Julia and nephew Christopher of Bedford, NH; and his sister Sonja M. Boyland and her husband Mark and nieces, Christina, Danielle and Emily of Chatham, NJ.Calling hours will be Friday, May 30, 2014 from 4:00-7:00 pm in the Hambly Brick House Funeral Home, Red Cross Avenue, Newport, RI.His funeral service will be held Saturday, May 31, 2014 at 11:00am from Hambly Funeral Home followed by a mass of Christian Burial at 12:00 pm at St. Marys Church, Spring Street, Newport, RI. Burial will be at St. Columbas Cemetery, Brown Lane, Middletown, RI.Memorial Donations may be made to Rogers High School c/o Vincent Integlia Memorial Fund, 15 Wickham Rd, Newport, RI 02840. Cemetery Details St. Columba Catholic Cemetery Brown's Lane Middletown, RI, 02842 Visitation MAY 30. 04:00 PM - 07:00 PM Hambly Funeral Home 30 Red Cross Ave Newport, RI, US, 02840 info@memorialfuneralhome.com http://www.hamblyfuneralhome.com Service MAY 31. 12:00 PM St. Marys Church 12 William Street Newport, RI, US