Rocco Caputo

He is preceded in death by his father, Nicholas A. “Cappy” Caputo, mother, Patricia A. Chiapetta, nee Arredondo, and survived by his stepfather Richard L. “Pops” Chiapetta, brother Peter (Annette) Caputo, stepsister Linda Chiapetta Gehrt, sister Christine Cutrone, stepsister Lisa Chiapetta (Audrius Reskevicius) , sister Nikki Caputo, and stepbrother Richard (Taiyda) Chiapetta. Rocco also leaves behind numerous cousins and friends.

Rocco was born on September 14, 1967, at South Chicago Community Hospital in Chicago, IL. Rocco attended Elementary School in Chicago and Oak Lawn and graduated from Harold L. Richards High School in Oak Lawn.

Rocco started working at Wrigley Field as a young teen of 16 and embarked on a career that ended up lasting his entire lifetime. I believe the highlight of his time as a vendor came when he was selected to be on the reality TV series, Undercover Boss in 2010. During the Season 2, Episode 7 “Chicago Cubs” show, Rocco was tasked with mentoring an undercover Todd Ricketts (one of the Chicago Cubs owners), posing as a hot dog vendor. Rocco ultimately told Todd that he didn’t feel Todd had what it took to make it selling hot dogs. The look on Rocco’s face when he found out who Todd really was -- priceless! Rocco made many friends throughout his career as a vendor and especially his customers behind home plate, which typically included the ball player’s wives. They all loved Rocco and would keep in touch with him in the offseason.

The common denominator in everyone’s comments about Rocco was his kindness and caring about people. He was truly a friend to all who knew him and he will be forever missed.

Friends and family will gather for a visitation for Rocco that will be held Tuesday, January 2nd, 2024 from 3:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Blake-Lamb Funeral Home, 4727 West 103rd Street, Oak Lawn, Illinois 60453, with a funeral service at 6PM.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating in Rocco’s name to the American Red Cross, https://www.redcross.org/donate/donation.html/ or signing your donor card to save a life.

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EULOGY FOR ROCCO CAPUTO

JANUARY 2, 2024

GIVEN BY RICH CHIAPETTA (ROCCO’S STEPBROTHER)

My name is Rich Chiapetta. I am Rocco’s stepbrother. Rocco and I were what I would call close in late elementary school and high school, and then again for the last three months. We were always on good terms, we just went our separate ways, as many people do, for the decades in between.

I want to thank Rocco’s siblings, Peter, Christine and Nikki, for giving me the honor of eulogizing Rocco. And on behalf of the family, I express gratitude to everyone here for your heartfelt sympathies and shows of support.

Rocco Caputo was born on September 14, 1967 at South Chicago Community Hospital in Chicago, IL. Rocco attended elementary school in Chicago and Oak Lawn and graduated from Harold L. Richards high school in Oak Lawn, IL.

Following in the footsteps of his late father Nicholas “Cappy” Caputo, Rocco started working at the ballparks as a vendor at 16 years of age. His vending career would last the remainder of his life – 40 years of service.

Highlights of his career included:

- A 2010 appearance on reality TV show Undercover Boss, and

- A 2016 appearance on The Late Show, with Stephen Colbert

Those events helped make him famous. But what really made him popular was the way he interacted with his extended family:

- His customers, which included season ticket holders, players’ wives and legions of other fans,

and

- His fellow vendors

In other words – the way he interacted with everyone here.

ROCCO CAPUTO

Who was he and why was he so popular?

The name “Rocco” helped. I understood from his late mother Patricia that Rocco was named after Rocco Domenico Colavito, Jr – better known as Rocky Colavito, a major league baseball player from 1955 to 1968, mostly with the Cleveland Indians. He was known for powerful hitting and a strong throwing arm.

I think the best way to reflect on Rocco’s life and popularity is through stories.

All of us remember where we were when we found out Rocco had passed away. When Christine called my house to let me know, I was on another phone on an international call with another relative. My wife Taiyda took Christine’s call and was left with the unenviable task of letting me know. When I was off my call, Taiyda said “Give me your hand.” She knew I wasn’t going to take the news well. I sat in stunned silence after she told me, then she immediately asked me what my favorite stories of Rocco were. I will share those, along with those of several family members.

Rocco was many things.

Rocco was a family member. Most recently, a brother, a stepbrother, a stepson, an uncle, a nephew, a cousin, a godfather, a confirmation sponsor.

Rocco was an extended family member: Purveyor of beer, friend, and coworker.

Rocco was many things.

Rocco was fun-loving.

Some of you may remember the Dick Van Dyke Show – the show that began with the show’s central character tripping over an ottoman and being quickly surrounded by concerned friends and family. This is similar to a story Rocco’s sister Nikki relayed to me – that Rocco once pushed her so hard, she flew over an ottoman. But instead of the scene ending with concerned friends and family rushing to her aid, this scene ends with Nikki chasing Rocco down the street with, let’s just say, an unidentified object in her hand!

Rocco’s brother Pete relayed a story where, in 2021, during a visit to California with Chris and Valerie, Rocco suddenly expressed a desire to go skydiving. After Rocco mentioned it several times, Pete finally asked if Rocco was serious. He was, and off they went for a tandem jump. Pete and his jump master went first. Rocco and his jump master followed at 13,000 feet. Somehow, Rocco landed first, by a good 30 seconds. Pete inquired. Rocco said it was simple – he insisted on pulling the parachute cord himself, and he waited to do so until the last possible second. Rocco had joined the family jump club, including both of his godchildren (nephew Kyle and niece Monica) along with nephew Michael, niece Valerie and Pete himself.

Rocco was many things.

Rocco was accident-prone.

Not a great characteristic for a skydiver.

His stepfather Richard reminded me of several stories, including the time Rocco dropped not one, but two or three full plates of hot dogs and pork and beans off the deck at the cabin in Wisconsin Dells.

Rocco banged his elbow on an unfinished deck edge of the pool at the house in Oak Lawn. This resulted in stitches and Rocco having to wear a bag on his arm in the pool the rest of the summer.

Christine related a couple of stories illustrating this characteristic of Rocco’s, including Rocco running through plate glass, and another time getting hit in the head with a bat Pete was swinging left-handed. In fact, Christine wound up helping Rocco after so many mishaps, Rocco sometimes affectionately referred to her as ‘ma’, implying a role as a second mother. But sometimes one trait goes hand in hand with another.

Rocco was many things.

Rocco was tough and he did not complain.

Christine mentioned this, too, not only from the plate glass and the bat to the head incident, but even as recently as his 11 week hospital stay. Not long after surgery, when he was clearly wincing in pain, they asked him his pain level. He responded – about a 5.

His stepfather Richard discussed with me the time Rocco had a fish hook caught in his thumb. It was pulled out, flesh and all. No complaints.

He hit his head on the underside of a deck and the cut was so deep, you could see the bone. “Pops” brought Rocco to the hospital, where Pops became woozy watching Rocco get stitched up. Not a peep from Rocco.

Rocco was many things.

Rocco was a lover of the outdoors.

I will stop short of calling him an outdoorsman, but he enjoyed the beaches of California when he would visit Pete and Annette, sometimes hiking with Chris, from what I see in the pictures. Rocco joined me at my happy place, the cabin in Wisconsin, on occasion. On one particular occasion in 2017, I took Rocco out on my fishing boat. We saw something very strange. A red buoy was being pulled at a medium speed upstream. We speculated it was either a giant fish caught on an illegal rig, or a government agency monitoring device of some sort – for measuring water depth or river contours or whatever. Despite Rocco’s urging me to leave it alone, I pulled up along side it, and tried to get the buoy with a fishing net. It bent the net into an L-shape. Then I tried to pull the buoy aboard with my hands. No luck, and I almost got pulled overboard. I looked up, and Rocco was holding a boat oar above his head, ready to go south side on whatever I pulled up, be it a fish or a machine. So Rocco was an outdoorsman, southside style.

Rocco was many things.

Rocco was caring.

His obituary states the common denominator in everyone’s comments about Rocco was his kindness and caring about people. I, too, observed this.

We know Rocco started his vending career at 16 or, as Nikki told me “16”, depending on whose birthday he was using. One might assume Rocco served his first beer in 1988, at the age of 21, in a ballpark. This would be false. From personal experience, I can tell you Rocco delivered me my first beer well before that in the woods behind Harold L. Richards high school. It would not surprise me if some of you in attendance were also there. At any rate, I had a few too many (rookie mistake) and wasn’t … feeling well. Rocco was petrified for the both of us. He got me home safely and created a distraction with our parents, allowing me to run up to bed undetected. This was just one, small instance of the caring that was a trademark of Rocco’s.

Rocco was many things.

Rocco was a fighter.

In the movie “Rocky”, in the late rounds of the fight with Apollo Creed, Rocky seems doomed, and is getting pummeled. The announcer exclaims “What is keeping him up?”

When Rocky gets knocked down, his trainer Mickey yells at him “Down! Down! Stay down!”. Rocky didn’t listen. He got up, to the surprise of his opponent, and got some good licks in to Apollo Creed’s ribs and finished the fight. He lost in a split decision, though that was not the focus of the final scene.

The similarities between this movie scene and what has transpired in the last three months are striking. Even the names of the hero are almost identical.

Rocco survived three surgeries and to say it did not look good is an understatement. It was one complication after another. But he kept coming back. He was hooked up to things I cannot pronounce. But he would just not go down. There were days he couldn’t communicate because of the ventilator and he was so frustrated. He wanted out of the hospital so badly. At times, it looked like that was just not going to happen. It looked like Rocco was down for the count. There were times when we left the hospital in tears – it was so painful to watch Rocco suffering. Then sometimes on the very next visit, he’d be sitting up smiling, say hello, and get out of bed to come sit by us on the couch in the room. During some of our later visits, I saw Rocco eating a corned beef sandwich from Manny’s that Uncle Vince brought and then another time it was a Ricobene’s pizza slide that Nikki brought him.

Rocco was off the mat!

He gave that illness a couple of good shots to the ribs.

He made it to the end of the fight on December 22, when he left the hospital. That illness and complications prevailed four days later is not the point – not the thing to focus on. He finished the fight on his terms, surrounded by loving family at Christmas.

So now what?

Well, in the very short term, I stop talking, and Deacon Mike gives Rocco his final blessing. Then the stories can continue in a less formal way – among you – his extended family. It’s ok to be sad. For a while.

But if you really want to honor Rocco:

- Be fun loving

- Be tough

- Be caring

- Be a fighter

Be like Rocco.