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IN LOVING MEMORY OF Richard Scappettone
Richard
Scappettone
Dec 24, 1932 — Aug 22, 2021
Richard Scappettone's Obituary
Richard Scappettone, beloved husband, father, grandfather, friend and comrade, passed into the celestial realm at the age of double infinity, or 88, peacefully at his home in Coconut Creek, Florida, on August 22, 2021, following several years of valiant battles with illness. He is survived by his loving wife of 66 years, Theresa, his daughters, Theresa, Lori, and Jennifer, and his grandchildren, Timothy and Amy Winn.
Richard grew up in a small apartment in the Bronx, the son of a cutter and of a zipper specialist in the Garment District. The home's one indulgence was the Baby Grand, sign of the family's commitment to music, shared by all the brothers: Richard would go on to study tenor saxophone, and eventually stand-up bass, and to play in several bands, at locations ranging from the basement of Our Lady of Solace to bungalow colonies in the Catskills to "Top of the Fair" at the site of the 1964 New York World's Fair.
Beyond his day job, from which he retired some time ago, his life's true vocation resided in a thirst for intellectual and aesthetic stimulation that took many forms: through music, from John Coltrane and Tito Puente through Michael Jackson and Lady Gaga; through chess and the card games he liked to play in various casinos; through travel both televised and real; through inquisitive study of painting, especially Italian Renaissance and Impressionist painting; through discoveries of treasure in the flea markets and garage sales that he scoured early mornings most weekends until his final years as part of his antique business—not a moneymaker, but a labor mostly of fascination and art-historical precision.
He had a knack for storytelling, for impressions of actors like Humphrey Bogart from The Maltese Falcon and Robert DeNiro in Taxi Driver; and he was always ready with a song or scat-singing upon request, or to snap into a few dance steps unexpectedly. When traveling in places like Mexico, Barcelona, Eastern Europe and the Black Sea, Las Vegas or Sicily, he would disarm his family by making new friends, quickly, and learning their languages with gusto. His lust for life, in the form of all things Italian, good food, great art, classic films, the pop music of every age, and time spent with his family, to whom he was ardently dedicated, touched everyone he met.
His memory will be a blessing to us all.
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Funeral Services for Richard Scappettone
Visitation
August
29
Sunday
Monarch Funeral Home & Cremation Services
11:00 am - 2:00 pm
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