Alexander Benedict Colletti of Barefoot Bay – Obituary

Alexander Benedict Colletti, a resident of Barefoot Bay, passed away on February 7, 2022. He was 83.

Alex was born in Brooklyn, New York, on July 29, 1938, to Anthony Alphonse Colletti, MD, and Rose Virginia Ferlazzo. He was one of four children. 

Alex graduated from Xavier High School in 1956 and then joined the Army, where he was stationed in Korea in a MASH Unit. Upon discharge, he attended Medical College of Virginia, obtaining a pharmacy degree. 

Alex visited relatives in the Triangle, Virginia area in 1959 and met Betty Boyd Hames at Triangle Baptist Church. They were married in 1960 and had two children, Andrew and Lisa. Alex was a pharmacist at Dumfries Pharmacy in Triangle, Virginia, for many years. He opened his own business, Bull Run Pharmacy, in 1973-74, and also completed building on a custom house in Warrenton, Virginia.

He and Betty divorced in 1974, and he met Janilla Carson in 1975 and moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, where they were married in 1976. He worked as a pharmacist in Las Vegas and then worked for an advertising sales company that moved him to various places: Redondo Beach, CA, Seattle, WA, Adrian, Michigan, and Cocoa Beach, Florida in 1993.

Upon retirement in 1998, he and Janilla moved to Jackson, Mississippi to be closer to family and grandchildren. They then returned to the Barefoot Bay, Florida area in 2006, where they enjoyed the Italian Club and the Bocce team and making many nice friends. In addition, they became members of St. Luke’s Catholic Church.

Alex was predeceased by his wife Janilla, his stepson Kenny, his brothers Tony and Nicholas Colletti, and his sister Rosemary Alfano. He is survived by his son Andrew (Susan) and daughter Lisa, stepsons John and Brian (Maria), five grandchildren and many loving relatives in Virginia, Mississippi, New York and Nevada.

A service honoring Alex will be held at St. Luke’s Catholic Church on Saturday, February 19, 2022.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the St. Luke’s Catholic Church Youth Group, 5055 Micco Road, Barefoot Bay, FL 32976 or St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital @ stjude.org/givehope.