Obituary of James "Scotty" Edmiston

James "Scotty" Edmiston, age 71, of Bridgeport, passed away peacefully in his sleep on Tuesday, July 5, 2016 at his home. Born in Kilwinning, Ayrshire, Scotland on December 20, 1944, he was a son of the late Alexander and Christina Howie Edmiston. Jim was a United States Army Veteran serving during the Vietnam era. He was an auto salesman for many years at the former Russell Chevrolet before earning two Associate Degrees with honors in Criminal Justice and Human Services at Housatonic Community College, where he was also elected President of the Student Senate. He was then employed as a residential counselor with the Kennedy Center Group Homes and Clasp Homes before his retirement. He took great pride in his work supporting individuals with disabilities and special needs and found his job to be very rewarding. He was an avid New York Yankees and Giants fan, and also enjoyed traveling and reading a good book. Jim was affectionately known as Scotty, Uncle Jim, and Uncle Scotty to his family and extended family, the Cioffi's. Soon after his arrival from Scotland at the age of 8, Anna and Victor Cioffi and their children Lisa, Vicki, Frank, Nancy, Willy and Victor befriended Scotty and treated him as family, a lifelong relationship that Scotty treasured. He valued and appreciated his close friends and thoroughly enjoyed the many gatherings of his second family and their families. Scotty was a loyal, devoted friend and a kind and generous man who would go out of his way to help anyone. He will be truly missed by all who knew him. Survivors include a sister, Janet (Shona) Feschino of Port Orange, FL, his former wife and best friend, JoAnne Veltri of Fairfield, as well as many nieces, nephews and friends. Scotty remained close to his former in-laws, the late Guglielmo and Angela Veltri, and to his brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law, Dominic, Cathy, Nick and Karen Veltri and their children, Dan, Rick, Nicole, Danielle and Mitchell Veltri. He was so very proud of all of them, found great joy in all their achievements, and cherished his relationship with his extended family. He was predeceased by a sister, Margaret Davidowski, a niece, Jodi Davidowski, and two brothers-in-law, Frank Feschino and Frank Davidowski. Friends can greet the family on Sunday, July 10, 2016 from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. at the Abriola Parkview Funeral Home, 419 White Plains Road, Trumbull. A prayer service will take place on Sunday night at 4:30 p.m. in the funeral home. In honor of Scotty's pride in his heritage, bagpipes will be played at 4:45 p.m. Interment with full military honors will be held on Friday, July 15, 2016 at 11:30 a.m. directly in the Mausoleum at Lawncroft Cemetery, 1740 Black Rock Turnpike, Fairfield.