Letters

On July 30, Jack D. Capone was laid to rest in Calverton National Cemetery. He was a well-loved community-oriented man whose many accomplishments were listed in his obituary last week.

Although I could spend several pages detailing how much he meant to both his family and his community, I will take the time in this letter instead to thank the many people who cared for him and made the last months, weeks and days meaningful for both him and myself.

My thanks goes out to the members of the Hampton Bays Volunteer Ambulance Corps, Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, and the orderlies, aides, nurses, doctors and staff at the Hampton Care Center, who, despite severe staff shortages, showed their compassion and care time and again over the last two and a half years.

Thanks also to all the dedicated friends, neighbors, family members and my partner, Sean, who helped my father and I through these difficult times. Thank you to Deacon Chris from St. Rosalie’s Church, and the pastors, chaplains and representatives from the Hampton Bays Fire Department, the American Legion and the Suffolk County Fire Chiefs Council who paid eloquent memorial to my dad, as well as to all the friends and family who made contact either at the services or by other means to give their condolences.

I would also like to thank Father Maddaloni and the parish at St. Rosalie’s for the beautiful Funeral Mass, and the Hampton Bays School District and Hampton Bays Historical Society for their thoughtful acknowledgments.

Thank you to the O’Shea family, the staff at O’Shea Funeral Home, and the Army soldiers and staff at Calverton National Cemetery for a dignified and poignant wake and burial service.

Perhaps most importantly, I want to thank the brothers and sisters of the Hampton Bays Fire Department, who over decades have given so much of their time, love and attention to my family, and who we have always been able to count on for help. You are a great family, and your moving tributes to my dad I will never forget.

Lastly, thanks to my dad, Jack, and mom, Rosemarie, who’ve given me everything, and are finally reunited.

John CaponeHampton Bays