Basic Needs/Social Services
Three-family houses lined the streets of downtown Torrington, sheltering multi-generational families, young couples with children, as well as aunts and uncles, and grandparents. Many residents worked at the Torrington Company, crafting needle bearings, or at Fitzgerald Manufacturing Company, building electric ranges, toasters, percolators, and clothes irons. In the early evenings after dinner, families walked and chatted, holding their children's hands as they made their way toward the Carvel stand on South Main St. to enjoy an after-dinner soft-serve ice-cream cone. This was the Torrington that Raymond and Gloria Oneglia knew, a factory community where they built O&G Industries and raised their children: Cynthia, David, and Raymond, Jr.
Raymond had recently returned from an enrollment in the Army and was working as a concrete laborer when he and Gloria married and started their family. He and his brothers, Francis and George, worked together to build upon the construction business that their father, Andrew, had co-founded with his wife, Virginia, as bookkeeper. Each of the brothers focused on a different division. They built what is now O&G Industries.
Gloria crafted a warm home filled with the scents of nutritious, made-from-scratch soups—bean, vegetable, simmering chicken stock. Music was ever-present, cascading throughout the house—the upbeat tempos of Billy Vaughn, and the soothing and playful periodicity of Annunzio Paolo Mantovani and his orchestra.
"They didn't have much starting out, and my father worked long hours," said Raymond, Jr., "but they built a nice life for us."
Gloria cared for her community the way she cared for her family. She delivered homemade noodles and soup to ill friends and family members, and she volunteered to drive community members to their medical appointments.
"She had a giving spirit," said Cynthia. "She gave in small ways that made a big difference. She knew instinctively that nutrition is essential to health, and she crafted every meal with that in mind."
Our parents provided a great life for us. By establishing a fund with NCCF, we have been able to honor their lives and to support a number of different organizations giving us a broad way to give back to the community we love.
Raymond and Gloria instilled the value of hard work in their children. David and Raymond, Jr. spent their summers at O&G Industries working with concrete—laboring, and even driving machinery—with much supervision. Cynthia worked summers in the main office in Torrington.
On weekends, Raymond and Cynthia went on long walks together. They discussed philosophy and played at outwitting each other. Later, as the business allowed, Raymond took the children flying in his small personal airplane—encouraging them to be adventurous and to travel.
Raymond and Gloria enjoyed family get-togethers and golf outings. And they supported the community that enabled them to build a successful life and business. Raymond served on the Torrington Board of Finance. Through O&G Industries, Raymond and Gloria supported the 2002 Warner Theatre restoration. The newly opened theatre was named the Virginia and Andrew Oneglia Theatre, after Raymond's parents.
In 2009 Raymond passed away. Gloria followed him ten years later. As Cynthia, David, and Raymond, Jr. settled Gloria's estate, they knew how best to honor their parents. In 2020, they established the Northwest CT Community Foundation Raymond A. and Gloria B. Oneglia Family Fund. The endowed donor-advised fund honors their parents and enables them to give back to the community they love.
The first grants from the fund supported a cause close to Gloria's heart—healing her neighbors with nutritious food and providing a warm loving home—through FISH of Northwestern CT, Community Kitchen of Torrington, and Friendly Hands Food Bank.
"Every homeless person is an individual facing tough, economic times; and every hungry family has their own unique story," said Deirdre DiCara, FISH of Northwestern Connecticut executive director.
"Our parents provided a great life for us," said Raymond, Jr. "By establishing a fund with NCCF, we have been able to honor their lives and to support a number of different organizations giving us a broad way to give back to the community we love."
