Gus Capizzo
August 16, 1941 - June 22, 2025
Gaspare Anthony Capizzo
Born on August 16, 1941, in Salemi, Sicily, Gus was
the beloved child of Vincenzo and Giuseppina, graduate of Natick High School
and Northeastern University, where his team won an ECAC Championship, and he
still holds an unbroken record for most saves in a game. He went on to pursue a
meaningful career as an entrepreneur, owning several successful businesses
where he was admired for his work ethic, integrity, and compassion.
Gus married the love of his life, Stephanie Tibbetts
Capizzo, on July 2, 1965, and together they built a beautiful life rooted in
love, faith, and family. He was a devoted father to Todd, Kristin, Sean, and
Peter, and a proud grandparent to eight grandchildren.
He will be remembered for his generosity, warm sense
of humor, and unwavering support for those he loved. Whether cheering on a
grandchild at a game, lending a hand to an old friend or neighbor, or sharing a
story from years past, his presence was a gift.
Gaspare is survived by his wife, Stephanie T. Capizzo;
his children and their spouses: David Todd Capizzo, Sr. and his wife, Carol;
Kristin R. Casparino and her husband, Michael; Sean M. Capizzo and his wife,
Celeste; Peter T. Capizzo and his wife, Eryn; and eight grandchildren: David
Todd Capizzo, Junior; Cole Michael Capizzo; Luci June Capizzo; Stella Louise
Capizzo; Michael Jonathan Casparino; Christopher Vincenzo Casparino; Sicilia
Giuseppina Capizzo; and Vito Gaspare Capizzo. He is also survived by his
brother, Dr. Frank Capizzo, and many nieces, nephews, and dear friends. He was
predeceased by his brother, Vito Capizzo.
A funeral service was held on August 1, 2025, at First
Congregational Church, 28 Main St., Marion, Massachusetts, at 10 o’clock AM.
Gus’ legacy of love, kindness, and strength will live
on in the hearts of all who knew him.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made via Venmo to
@G-Capizzo-Memorial-Hockey-Fund in his memory, or by checks made payable to
David T. Capizzo with the memo “Gus Capizzo Memorial Hockey Fund.”
Photo Gallery
To view photos from Gus’s life, visit the website
below.
Eulogy delivered by Gus’ daughter, Kristin
Good
morning. I would like to start today but telling you about a gift my dad gave
to me (Kristin) when I was in college.
It was
a copy of his favorite book The Prophet , by Kahlil Gibran.
You see, our dad was an avid reader and he immersed himself learning everything
he possibly could. As a father, he wanted me to read it because it teaches
life’s lessons on so many aspects of life. It centers on a
prophet who shares wisdom about family, love, marriage, giving, work, joy and
sorrow, freedom, self-knowledge, death and so much more. It explains the way to
a universal spiritual freedom and a good, happy life, but not one without
difficulties.
Gibran
looks at the world through the eyes of a wise man who wants to build a better
society and lead people to the real way of life.
And he
writes on death saying , "You would know the secret of death. But how
shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?”
Today
we mourn dad’s loss but we also we celebrate how incredibly well our he sought
out the essence of a FULL life with everything he accomplished even in the face
of many challenges.
A
husband, dad, Nonno, brother, uncle, and friend — Gus was a man of great
strength and even greater heart. He had the courage to live life on his own
terms. He overcame hardships from poverty, moving to a new country without
understanding the language as child and held tightly onto life with a tenacity
that was all his own. He loved this country. It was a privilege to be here and
he was NOT going to waste it. He was brave and achieved many
things. And, as he worked hard towards the goals he set for himself,
he brought all of us along for the ride —having fun all the way.
The
words many of you used to describe him when we called to break the sad news
were —
Absolute
legend,
Courageous
Life of
the party,
One in
a million,
Broke
the mold,
Admirable,
True
Historian,
Super
Gus
Sug
(for those of you who don’t know is Gus backwards…the inside joke is that he
would mix up words a lot -burnerfreeze- and so Sean’s friend’s called him
Sug.
When my
brothers and I were calling people to deliver the sad news, top on the list was
one of my dad’s longest and best friends, Eddie Estella. Eddie told me to
listen to Steve Jobs’ commencement speech to Stanford University. You should
listen to it-it’s inspiring. He explained that he had tried to reach out to Gus
but he hadn’t answered his phone this past year and a half. So, instead he
would listen to the speech in order to feel closer to him. He was right, it
tells a story that parallels my dad’s personality and the way he lived his
life.
Jobs
starts his speech by saying:
"You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them
looking backwards. So you have to trust the dots will somehow connect in your
future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma,
whatever."
Our dad
had courage in life because trusted himself. He had an
unshakable confidence to follow his heart — even when it might have meant
failure. You all know that Gus never took “NO” for an answer. We all
remember the shed he built in Nantucket with his bare hands from take it or
leave it scraps. We watched and teased him about the first nor’easter knocking
it down - well, it still stands strong today. I personally will always remember
the brass plaque over his desk that reads “Never Ever Give Up”
Today,
we get to reflect on how beautifully he connected his dots with true passion,
taking risks with relentless determination to succeed and just loving people
and life.
So his
story started like this:
He was
born Gaspare Capizzo in 1941, in Salemi, Sicily, on a beautiful farm surrounded
by extended family. His parents, Giuseppina and Vincenzo, were hardworking
farmers raising three boys — Vito, Gasparino, and Francesco.
He was
proud of his roots and remembered his early years with so much love:
working the fields, walking to school, riding horses, going to church every
Sunday as an altar boy — and of course, causing no small amount of mischief.
(God bless Nonna.)
During
the war, the Germans occupied their home. My dad told us that the family had to
hide in an underground food bunker when they arrived. Soon after the family
moved to their farmhouse, and by some luck, he told us that the Germans were
kind to them — though it was a terrifying time.
Everything
changed when our grandfather, with incredible courage, chose to leave the
family farm behind and move to the United States. Tradition said the farm would
go to the eldest son, which meant Gus and Frank would be sent to the army. So
in 1950, our grandfather sent our grandmother and Vito to America first, while
he stayed behind with the two boys to sell the farm. They arrived in Natick in
1950 and they were poor, but they had extended family — our great Aunt Niazia —
to take them in until Gus, Frank, and my grandfather joined them a year later.
Our grandparents worked hard, our grandfather in a rubber plant and our
grandmother as a seamstress, and this instilled the work ethic that they had on
the farm, HERE in the United States, to their children. Our father was always
working.
He
loved his brothers Vito and Frank so very much. He was a dedicated son to his
parents and looked up to both of his brothers with so much pride in their
accomplishments. A distinguished cardiologist, graduating top in his class and
a record holding, charismatic football coach. Gus had many friends in high
school and spent much of his time as an athlete alongside them and his
brothers. He loved football — and as we all know, especially hockey. Hockey is
life!
His
hard work and dedication to the sport open the doors to a scholarship at
Northeastern University, where he met our mom. He sent her a ticket to one of
his hockey games, (pause) which she skipped — so, not taking
“no” for an answer, he sent her another ticket and many love letters.
Our
parents were married in 1965 here in this church, celebrating on a steaming hot
day on the front lawn in Mattapoisett; going on to raise me and my 3 brothers.
He was
a wonderful father and made the simplest things in life truly come alive. PAUSE
We love
him so much; he had many admirers - and this is true because even though he was
the largest presence in the room, he made us all feel seen — it might have been
a joke, his laughter, gifting a broken-down car, guidance to a meaningful
career path, a quiet moment of listening or a giant bear hug. If you were lucky
enough to get one of those hugs, you remember it. It actually
hurt.
He put
himself through graduate school by purchasing and running a bar called
Kilgarriff’s Café — a popular hotspot in Jamaica Plain. Think about that. (Pause)
Who opens a bar to put themself through college? Hard work but so much fun.
Only Gus.
He had
a passion for history and, owning and running a bar in Jamaica Plain during the
1970’s was not the safest occupation so, he sold the bar and moved on to became
a history teacher at Norwood High School for a few years.
He had
a powerful will to succeed and went on to build his business in real estate and
insurance — a legacy that’s still going strong today. From that hard work, he
gave our family the gift of fun and adventure: Sunday dinners at Nonna and
Nonno’s, HUGE Christmas parties every year in Walpole, summer days and fall
Whalers football on Nantucket, our very own (and very dangerous) family
Thanksgiving football games in Mattapoisett/Nantucket -a lot go on the injured
list on a yearly basis - to skiing every winter with cousins, and trips to
Florida to see our grandparents.
The
bond that he shared with our mother’s parents (Gram and Louie) and mom’s cousin
and husband, Karen and Walter, was strong. They were family and the best of
friends. They were partiers and had great times fishing, diving for lobsters,
playing Bridge, joking, and laughing, picking on each
other, celebrating holidays and the Kentucky Derby. They loved
talking politics. He especially enjoyed political debates with my grandmother.
They were opposed mostly but respected each other’s opinions. He cherished those
special Manilla envelopes from Walter filled with news clippings and personal
notes. He light up when that envelope arrived . They are family and the best of
friends.
Then—there
was always hockey. His hockey career was like no other.
He
loved the game with everything he had.
As a
kid, battling Vito and Frank in the driveway shooting pucks at him without
helmets, to setting collegiate records. He still holds the unbroken record at
Northeastern for most saves in one hockey game. One of his fondest memories is
coaching Peter’s team and orchestrating their trip to play in Kyiv, they left
hockey equipment there because the families who opened their doors had nothing
to give yet, still housed and fed them.
In his
later years, he played with The Bluechips and each year in The Senior Games. He
loved hockey so much not only for the game but for the lifelong friends he
made. The game was in his blood and we all know that Gus was UNstoppable. Even
just 10 years ago, when he had a lot of aches and pains & could barely
carry his bag, if they needed a goalie, he got himself there no matter what. I
(Kristin) offered to get him a hockey bag with wheels -his reply—, “are you
kidding me?” Again-Never EVER Give Up.
In
Steve Jobs final message of his speech, he talks about a series of books called
“the whole Earth Catalog”, he described it as being “sort of like Google in
paperback, 35 years before Google came along; it was idealistic and overflowing
with neat, tools, and great notions.” on the back of each addition, there was a
picture of a country road beneath it was a quote “Stay hungry. Stay
foolish.”
Eddie
couldn’t have suggested a better speech to remember our dad. He had a hunger
for life and certainly stayed a foolish kid.
This
quality made dad a natural with kids . With his childlike ways, he could turn a
meltdown into a laughing fit like no one else we’ve ever seen. Truly magical. (pause).
He was especially proud of his grandchildren and loved watching them grow and
making them laugh, watching their achievements. And these past few years when
he wasn’t feeling well, his face lit up, his laughter retuned and he became
more like his old self when he saw them. They were the highlight of his life.
So now,
his dots are all connected. Looking back, he overcame many obstacles and we
couldn’t be more proud of him. From his roots in Sicily to Natick, Boston,
Walpole, Nantucket, Norwell and Mattapoisett,
his passion
for life,
sheer
determination,
strong
work ethic,
unshakable
bravery and
MANY
sacrifices,
he
built a better life in this country that he loved so very much. And in return,
he gave all of us here today - the same.
In
Jobs’ speech, he acknowledges death as a motivator for living a meaningful
life. He says that “Knowing the day will come when we are no longer here, helps
us not to be afraid to take risks.”
Gibran
urges us to find deeper meaning and wisdom in our own experiences so that we
find freedom and peace at the end of our lives.
Our dad
was motivated and he did seek the heart of life -unafraid, before facing the
end, which is now no longer a secret. I have no doubt he is at peace.
So, we
leave you with this final thought …..when life feels uncertain, and obstacles
are in your way — think of Gus Capizzo and his story. And take a piece of him
to help you take a leap. Stay happy. Stay strong. Stay foolish
and Never Ever Give Up.
Happiness
came to him that way. And if you live that way too, he’ll be so proud — we
promise.
God
bless you, Dad. We love you so much.