Bill DalCerro, notified me of Richard Capozzola passing. Bill is young educator himself, who became an Avid , Dedicated, and Unselfish Advocate for the Positive Image of the Italian American, as Creator of the Web Site "StereotypeThis" http://www.stereotypethis.com and as an Officer of The Italic Institute of America (IIA) [www.Italic.org] wrote me: 

"Richard Capozzola wrote and edited "Five Centuries of Italian American History," an adaptation of Giovanni Schiavo's famous book but with a user-friendly, year-by-year calendar of famous achievements by Italian Americans from 1492 until 1992. 

In 1993,  I read Cappy's book (Cappy was his nickname) and it turned me from a know-nothing American into a fiercely proud Italian American. Luckily, I got to tell him so many times over the years, both on the phone and when visiting him in Florida. 

And he wasn't "just" an activist; he was a highly decorated New York state high school superintendent who met with four presidents. After he retired is when he took up the cudgel to defend his community. He once told me that he put close to $40,000 of his own money into the book.
Like Schiavo, his requests for funding, or even a bit of moral support, fell on deaf ears (of NIAF, OSIA, UNICO) But, that is a discussion for another day...The book is now out-of--print; I will work with his son Steven to bring it back. It is my solemn vow.

Send out good thoughts to Cappy and his family...His intelligence and wit will be missed...
 

Richard Capozzola passed away in Altamonte Springs, Florida on September 3, 2010 after a long illness.  He is survived by his two sons, Michael and Steven.  He was 73 years old.

Born in the Bronx, NY, Richard will be remembered as a strong-willed, proud, and funny man.  While dedicated and serious in his 32-year career as a school teacher and high school principal, after-hours he was the silly and funny life of a party, always ready to entertain with a joke.  His memoir, 'Jesus Save Us,' helps chronicle both his hardworking life and irreverent humor. 

As a lifelong baseball enthusiast, Richard is one of the few ball players who, in one capacity or another, played in all four of the original New York baseball stadiums: Yankee Stadium, Ebbets Field, the Polo Grounds, and Shea Stadium.  From sandlot ball and the 1956 Journal American team, to playing with the Philadelphia Phillies minor league team, to senior league play, Richard was the rare pitcher who could also hit home runs, including even later in life at the Roy Hobbs senior league home run competition.  In 1970, he was the batting practice pitcher for the New York Mets.

As a teacher and high school principal, Richard helped educate thousands of students.  From his early days as an elementary school teacher in New York City?s tough Harlem district, to his decade-long tenure as principal of the tough, 3,000-student Mount Vernon High School, he was known as tough, but fair, and always dedicated to making a school better.  While at Mount Vernon High School, he was honored by President Reagan with a National Excellence in Education Award, which he received at a Rose Garden ceremony at the White House.

Richard was also a nationally recognized author and commentator on Italian-American civil rights.  A member of various groups, including the Sons of Italy, he authored the book ?Five Centuries of Italian-American History? and spent decades writing articles and giving interviews to raise awareness of the incorrect and damaging influence of caricatured Italian-American characters in movies and television.

Richard mellowed with age and will be much missed by his children, who loved him and often sought his guidance and advice.  In the afterlife, Richard will, as his burial inscription humorously notes (in deliberately rhyming and incorrect grammar), be ?Really happy heres."  Possibly he and his father will gather to watch New York Yankees games broadcast in heaven, or a simulcast of the Belmont Stakes.  Regardless, he will be ready with a joke for his new friends.
 

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