Joseph Felix Capizzi

Joseph was born July 27th, 1931, in Israel-Zion Hospital, Brooklyn, New York to Anna (Macaluso) and Saverio Capizzi, immigrants from Sicily. He is survived by Saralou, his wife of 60+ years, and their four children, Peter Joseph (Michelle), Ann Louise (Troy), Joseph Edward (Mary), and Stephen Andrew (Andrea), and their fifteen grandchildren: Olivia, Maddy, Paul, Seth, and Matthew Capizzi, Hannah and Sarah Hamlin, Margaret, Anna-Sophia, Gabriella, Juliana, Liliana, and Peter Capizzi, and Kate and Jack Capizzi. His older brother Vincent preceded him in death.

As a boy, Joseph was a member of The Bluejackets Guard USA Corps of Naval Cadets. He graduated from John J. Pershing Junior High School in 1946 and from Fort Hamilton High in 1950. He enlisted in the US Navy during the Korean conflict in 1951 and served as a hospital corpsman, second class, until his honorable discharge in 1955. Though he never graduated from college, he took courses at Long Island University in Brooklyn and at the University of Tennessee in Chattanooga, from which he received a wrestling scholarship. He enrolled at the Temple University School of Dentistry in 1958 and graduated in 1961. His professional education was supported by the GI Bill. He loved practicing dentistry, and it suited his personality well. He was hard-working and meticulous, and his engaging and fun personality complemented his technical skills perfectly. As a young dentist in New York, among his first patients were many indigent Italian immigrants. He loved serving these new arrivals from the homeland of his parents, who often paid for his dental services with trays of lasagna, eggplant, and fried artichokes. He enjoyed serving a wide range of patients for several decades and built practices in Staten Island, NY and Rochester and Wolfeboro, NH. Later in his career, he worked for the Commonwealth of Virginia, serving the pediatric dental needs of the rural poor.

While at Temple University, Joseph met and fell in love with a dental hygiene student, Saralou Lasser. He and Saralou married on August 12, 1961, in Saint Catharine of Alexandria Church, Brooklyn. Then began an adventure of more than six decades that led them from Brooklyn to Staten Island to the Lakes Region of New Hampshire to Keswick, VA to Nashville, TN and ultimately to Cary, NC. Joe and Saralou shared a beautiful love story - they were absolutely devoted to each other; anyone who observed them, even if only for a moment, witnessed their deep love and care for one another. That devotion extended to the very end of Joe’s life, as Saralou cared for him lovingly and patiently through every stage of his decline.

Joseph was a good father: he worked incredibly hard and was the ultimate protector and provider. In addition to dentistry, he enjoyed weight training - a passion developed as a teen in Brooklyn, one that continued into his retirement years when he volunteered at gyms to help seniors with strength training. He and Saralou relished free time with each of their children and grandchildren - hosting family members often or traveling to the homes of their children. Family time involved watching baseball games, cooking, and eating amazing Italian food, watching classic movies, playing with their dogs, spending time outdoors, and laughing a lot! Joseph had a fabulous memory and loved sharing stories from his times as a child in Brooklyn, serving in the Navy, as a graduate student, and other points in his life. His family will long treasure his stories, his infectious laughter, and his great sense of humor.

May Joseph Felix, loving son, husband, father and grandfather, Rest in Peace and forever be remembered with love.

A Funeral Mass will be held 11am Saturday, January 15, 2022 at Saint Michael the Archangel Catholic Church, 804 High House Road, Cary, NC 27513.