Obituaries 06-17-2020

Kimiko Amato

Believed to be one of the first few Post WWII Japanese War Brides

Kimiko “Kay” “Kimi” (Yamaguchi) Amato died in East Boston on June 11. She was in her 95th year.

The beloved wife of the late Angelo A. Amato, she was the devoted mother of Joseph and his wife, Josephine of East Boston, John and his wife, Lorraine and Charles and his wife, Ginny, all of Wilmington.

Kimiko was born in Osaka, Japan on March 15, 1926.  She met her future husband in Japan in 1946 while he was serving in the US Army as part of the American Forces occupying Japan after World War II. Angelo returned home in 1948 and joined the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Engineering services. 

Missing the provisions of the War Brides Act passed by President Harry S. Truman, Angelo petitioned then Congressman John F. Kennedy to introduce a special bill on her behalf to allow her to enter the United States in 1949. Kimiko is believed to be one of the first few Japanese war brides to come to the U.S. to marry.

Kimiko is also survived by six grandchildren: Robert, Angelina, Michael and Christina, all of Wilmington, Jason and Daniel of Quincy and two great-grandchildren, Lucy and Logan.  She is also survived by her brother, Kazumi Yamaguchi of Osaka, Japan and his children.

Funeral Services for the family were held on Tuesday, June 16. We encourage you to send messages of condolence to the family on our Tribute Page: MagrathFuneralHome.com

Interment was in Woodlawn Cemetery, Everett. Because of her love of animals and in lieu of flowers, donations in Kimiko’s memory to the MSPCA would be appreciated.

Pietroangelo “Peter” Spera

Of East Boston

Pietroangelo “Peter” Spera of East Boston passed away on Tuesday, June 9.

The beloved husband of the late Serafina Spera, he was the devoted father of Teresa and Rita Spera and the late Henry; dear brother of the late Emily and Henry and cherished grandfather of Adriana, Marc and Ashley. 

Family and friends will honor Peter’s life by gathering at the Ruggiero Family Memorial Home, 971 Saratoga Street, (Orient Heights) East Boston, today, Wednesday, June 17 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. before proceeding to Ridgelawn Cemetery, Watertown where Peter will be laid to rest with his beloved wife, Serafina. May they both rest in peace. 

Services will be held in accordance with Phase 2 of the MA re-opening plan. All attendees will be asked to wear face coverings during any services and maintain social distancing practices. For more information,  please visit www.ruggieromh.com. 

Janice Capozzi

Of Brockton, formerly of East Boston

Janice E. (McKenna) Capozzi, 67, of Brockton, formerly of East Boston, died June 10 at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. 

Janice was the loving wife of Kenneth C. Capozzi, daughter of the late Thomas and Isabel (Costello) McKenna, mother of Ken Capozzi of Brockton, Peter Capozzi and his wife, Gina of N. Attleboro, Naureen Moya and her husband, Henny of East Bridgewater and Marlene Marsden and her husband, Michael of Tewksbury; grandmother of Avery Capozzi, Isabella, Julianna and Francesca Moya, Emily, Michael and Abigail Marsden and Petra, Peter and Kaylee Capozzi.  She was the sister of William McKenna of East Boston, Kenneth McKenna of Milton and the late Thomas McKenna, Marlene Diflumeri and Ann Buckley. 

A Celebration of her life will be held at a later date.  For online condolences visit www.conleyfuneralhome.com or on Facebook at Conley Funeral & Cremation Service.

Grace LoGrasso

A gentle, understanding woman who always gave solid advice

Grace (Pace) LoGrasso of East Boston, formerly of Revere, California and Florida, passed away on June 7 at the age of 95 surrounded by her caring family.

Grace was a homemaker and a loving, giving mother and grandmother.

Grace was a gentle, understanding woman who always gave solid advice. She enjoyed traveling, reading, singing along to classic movies, and vividly retelling moments from her life. Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune were some of her favorite shows. She will truly be missed by all who knew her.

She was the beloved wife of the late Frank LoGrasso, devoted mother of Rosemary “Rory” Pretti and her husband, Alfred “Butchie” of Derry, NH, Suzanne LoGrasso of East Boston, David LoGrasso of Palm City, FL and the late Stephen LoGrasso; cherished grandmother of Brian LoGrasso, Vanessa Middleton, Derek Pretti, Ashley LoGrasso, Frankie LoGrasso, Krystal Almonte and the late Douglas “Dougie” Pretti; adored great grandmother of Dallas Gilbreath, Steven LoGrasso, Devin Michaud, Andrew Middleton, Avery Middleton and Dario Pretti; dear sister of the late Frank Pace, Tina Adreani, and Joseph, Joseph, Salvatore, Michael and Rosie Pace. She is also survived by many loving nieces and nephews.

A Funeral Mass was celebrated the Immaculate Conception Church, Revere on Thursday, June 11. Interment was at Woodlawn Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Heart Association, 300 5th Ave, Waltham, Ma 02451. For guest book please visit www.buonfiglio.com.

John Burns, Esq.

Prominent criminal defense attorney

John T. Burns, Esq., passed away on June 10, due to complications from COVID-19 after a long and agonizing battle with Alzheimer’s Disease.

John was born on July 14, 1940, the son of the late Kathleen (Coleman) and George V. Burns, Sr, formerly of West Roxbury and East Dennis.

He was the beloved husband of the late Roberta (Abrams). John and Roberta were married for 40 plus years, until 2008, when Roberta lost her battle to lung cancer.

John and Roberta settled in Revere (Roberta’s hometown) where they raised their family. He was the caring brother of George V. Burns Jr. of West Roxbury, Kathleen and her husband, Vincent Ryan of West Roxbury, Mary Guiney of Canton and her late husband, Ken Walsh, the late Helen Doyle and her husband, the late Joseph Doyle of Scituate and James of Pompano Beach, FL and his ex-wives, the late Janet and the late Diana. He was the loving father of George and his wife, Marifrances Morrison, of Raleigh, NC and John Jr. of Revere and is also survived by three adoring grandchildren, Madison, Michael and John of Raleigh, NC and many loving nieces and nephews.

John, a native Bostonian, lived with his family in Hyde Park, then moved to West Roxbury. From an early age, John was always active in sports, but as a child he particularly loved basketball. It was as a result of John’s basketball exploits for his CYO basketball team at St. Thomas More in Braintree that John’s older sister Kathleen was introduced to her future husband, Vincent Ryan, John’s CYO basketball coach. (Rumor has it that the only reason Coach Vincent Ryan kept John on his team was to get a date with Kathleen).

John attended Roslindale High School, graduating in 1959. While at Rozzie High, John played football, basketball and baseball, being named as the school’s “Most Athletic” student. (It has been reported, although not confirmed, from a (mostly) reliable source that while at Rozzie High, John was a member of the military cadets, attaining the rank of captain, the key club, as well as being involved with student government.)

After graduating from Rozzie High, John traveled across the country to attend New Mexico State University-Las Cruces on a football scholarship. However, being far from home and missing his friends and family, John returned to Boston, eventually graduating from Calvin Coolidge College, located in the Beacon Hill section of Boston. After graduating from college, John attended Portia Law School (now New England Law), also located on Beacon Hill. It was while at law school that John met his future wife, and the love of his life, Roberta, who was working as a secretary at the school. Upon John’s graduation from law school, he passed the Bar Examination and in 1969 was admitted to the practice of law in Massachusetts. John went on to have a 40+ year career as a prominent criminal defense attorney, zealously (and often colorfully) representing his clients in courtrooms throughout Greater Boston.

During his many years of practice, John was not held to be in contempt of court in the great majority of his many cases. When his advocacy was needed to defend juveniles accused of committing a crime, John could be heard in the hallways of the various Suffolk County Courthouses lecturing the various juveniles to, “Remain in school,” “Stay away from drugs,” and to “Not speak to anyone.”

In his spare time, John was an avid sports fan, with a love of all Boston’s sports teams, especially the Celtics. In fact, as a younger man, John would frequently sneak into the old Boston Garden to watch the Celtics’ games for free. John also was a fan of high school and college sports. Over the years he attended many St. Dominic Savio’s High School football games and John always looked forward to their annual Thanksgiving Day game played at East Boston Stadium.  During the 20+ years he attended Savio’s Thanksgiving Day’s games, John tirelessly worked at perfecting his Bloody Mary recipe, which he unveiled every year at the pre-game tailgate. His tailgates were always lively affairs, attended by many friends, supporters and alumni of Savio Football.

John was also a regular at Stonehill College’s football games, traveling all over New England and New York to cheer on the Chieftains (now Skyhawks.) In fact, during a 4-year stretch in the mid-to-late 1980’s, John only missed two games, and that was because he attended weddings for two of his beloved nieces.

Other than competitive sports, John loved to go fishing off Cape Cod with his father and other family members. John also loved spending time on Cape Cod and long days with his family at Corporation Beach followed by a dip in Scargo Lake. John was the long-time Grand Poobah of Camp Ding-a-ling, which was an annual family gathering held on Jericho Lane, East Dennis. Funeral arrangements were by the Paul Buonfiglio & Sons-Bruno Funeral Home, Revere.  Interment was in Woodlawn Cemetery. Donations may be made in John’s name to the Alzheimer’s Association, 309 Waverley Oaks Rd, Waltham, MA 02452. For guest book please visit www.buonfiglio.com.

Rose Woodside

To know her was to love her

Rose F. (Chiodi)”Woodside of East Boston passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her family on June 10 at the age of 83.

She was the beloved wife of 50 years to the late Donald Woodside and companion of nine years to Lou Palmieri; devoted and loving mother of Edward Woodside and his wife, Denise of Saugus, Kevin Woodside and his wife, Julie of Winthrop and Donna Woodside of East Boston; adored and proud grandmother “Nina” of Joseph Woodside of East Boston, Michael Woodside of Saugus, Kevin Woodside and his wife, Kori of Lynn, Lauren Doucette and her husband, Paul of Lynn and Nicole Bennett and her husband, Thomas of North Carolina and great-grandmother of Kayden Woodside; cherished daughter of the late Antonio and Rosa (Cardinale) Chiodi and sister to 10 siblings: Elena LaMonica, Catherine Spagnola,  Salvatore Chiodi and the late Larry Chiodi, Pauline-Paolini-Anastasio, Andrew Chiodi, Frances Imbrescia, Antoniette Smith, Anthony Chiodi and Anne Magner. She is also survived by many loving nieces and nephews.

In the early 70’s, Rosie began working at the Ninety-Nine restaurant in Boston which eventually became The Nines (a name she suggested) when new management took over. She was loved by all of her customers for her bigger than life personality and her ability to tell the best jokes. When the restaurant closed in the mid-90’s, she wasn’t quite ready to call it quits and moved on to work at several establishments in East Boston including Barney’s and the Pony Lounge. 

Anyone who ever knew her, couldn’t help but love her. She was everyone’s favorite. Nothing meant more to her than her family. Rosie was the most generous and loving mother and grandmother. She enjoyed spending summer vacations in Cape Cod and New Hampshire and countless Sunday dinners and holidays together.

Services will be held in accordance to Phase 2 of the MA re-opening plan. All attendees will be asked to wear face coverings during any services and maintain social distancing practices.

Family and friends honored Rose’s life by gathering at the Ruggiero Family Memorial Home 971 Saratoga St. East Boston on Tuesday June 16. A Funeral Mass in celebration of Rose’s life will be held today, Wednesday, June 17 at Sacred Heart Church, Brooks St., East Boston at 10 a.m. Services will conclude with Rose being laid to rest with her beloved husband, Donald at VA National Cemetery in Bourne. For more information or to send an online condolence, visit ruggieromh.com.

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