My father, Anthony Thomas DeCaprio, was a life-long resident of Schenectady, New York, who brought smiles and love to all he met for 82 years. He entered into eternal rest surrounded by all of his loving family at Ellis Hospital on Sunday, June 28, 2009. Without him my life will never be the same.
Born on the fifth day of February, 1927, he was the beloved son of the late Ralph DeCaprio and M. Anne Mastin. School years were spent at Mont Pleasant High, and after graduating in 1945 he proudly served his country in the United States Navy as a Seaman First Class.
In his early years my father worked at the Navel Supply Depot, in Scotia, New York, where he won awards for his Quality Control suggestions and his charcoal sketches. He then went on to work for Freihofer's Baking Company of Schenectady, New York, where he was employed as a driver for 17 years, and on one occasion was recognized as a hero for saving a customer’s life. My father had many fond memories and funny stories about his earlier years there, when he drove the Bakery's horse-drawn wagon pulled by his faithful mares "Bessie" and "Betsy". I remember on my summer vacations from school, Dad would come home at lunch time so I could help him feed the horses their afternoon bag of oats. Later he went on to work for the General Electric Company of Schenectady, New York as a Tool and Die Operator and retired from there as a Tool Crib Manager.
After retirement he owned and operated A SLICE OF HEAVEN CHEESE CAKERY in Rotterdam, New York, where he eventually served as the head baker amongst his other proprietor duties. A SLICE OF HEAVEN became a favorite stopping spot for all of the locals, and anyone who ever tasted his cheesecakes will never forget them. He had over one hundred flavors and served each and every customer with his award-winning sense of humor.
With fluent rhyming ability and a vivid imagination, my father also loved to create poems, write song lyrics and short stories in his spare time. I believe he was instrumental in my career choice, always proud and supportive of my books and poems.
He was also affiliated with the Federal Turbine Credit Union as an officer, and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks as a long time member. He was a faithful attendant of Saturday evening services at St. Paul the Apostle Church in Schenectady, New York, and Sunday morning Mass at Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Rotterdam, New York.
This small memorial doesn’t even touch upon one grain of my father’s character and the quality man he was, but for all of you entering this site, at least you’ll get a glimpse of the man who molded me to be the woman I am today. He is loved and will be truly missed.
I was a Saturday in July of 2006 when I sent my husband to WalMarts for propane gas. Our grill's tank had run out and we wanted to barbacue hamburgers that evening for dinner.
About an hour later he returned, not only with the new tank of propane, but with a little grey rabbit as well. It seems this tiny critter was left in the sun, in a small box,
by the garden entrance of the store (where my husband needed to go for the propane). When my husband investigated the box's contents he discovered an abandoned rabbit,
which decided to jump out of the box. My husband cringed as the rabbit hopped away, heading for the parking lot. Of course, being the animal people we are (rescuing at that point a dog and a cat)
my husband went after the rabbit. Both dodged the heavy Saturday traffic, my husband holding his breath until he finally caught the rabbit. Once the rabbit was safely back in the box,
my husband took it into the store and began to question why such an inhumane thing was done. Two small boys owned up to the deed, saying if they kept the rabbit their landlord would evict them from their apartment.
Then they smiled and said, "You can have him, Mister," and ran out of the store. The rest is history.....as we named the rabbit ARTFUL DODGER (for obvious reasons), and called him DODGIE for short.
We took him to our vet that following Monday and had him all checked out....learning he was a MALE rabbit, about six months old. That was five years and nine months ago, and we've enjoyed, loved, and cared for Dodgie until he passed away on April 25th, 2012.
He was a good little guy, getting along with a dog and cat, grandkids, and us. And he will be truely missed. Rest in peace my little friend!
She had been ill the previous week and hospitalized, but there was nothing more the many vets and specialist could do for her, so I took her home to spend her remaining days with me....in the surroundings she's known and loved for the 18 years and 3 months I've been blessed to have her.
Oddly enough, Penny came to me on Election Day of 1990. My Beagle-mix, Spunky was 17 years old and dying, and Penny was adopted to help me handle the pain and grief of losing Spunky. My records show that Spunky died November, 21st, 1990....Penny died exactly 18 years and one day from Spunky's death.
In those last 18 years and 3 months Penny has seen me through a divorce, a remarriage, my children's teen years, the deaths of other beloved pets, and the writing of the four books I now have published.
She was my baby and my best friend and I will never forget her. Her last moments were spent sitting on a chair with me at the table, where together we always shared lunch. She looked up at me, our eyes locked with the deep love we had for each other and 22 seconds later she was gone...I believe a massive heart attack was what finally took her.
She is laid to rest out back of my yard, surrounded by all my other animal family.
And so be it now, she is not gone...just gone on ahead of me...waiting for my arrival on the Rainbow Bridge. One day we will be together again, until then her memory will be etched deep within my heart.
April 3rd of 1990 I received a lovely little fur-ball of a cat, I named Simba Lady.
Bred in Covena Hills, California, Simba is part Asian Leopard. This adorable baby could jump 6 to 8 feet straight in the air, and land perfectly on her hind legs every time.
I often found her looking down at me from atop my china hutch. She'd never drink water from a dish, either....but instead had to have it running from a faucet or fountain. Her "meow" wasn't the usual...but a scratchy sort of mini-growl...like a little wild cat.
She died December 17th, 2008, four months shy of her 19th birthday. I loved her dearly and she will be truly missed.
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