Plan for the Future
Francis F. Caputo of Chatham, NJ passed away on November 7, 2023, at age 77.
Known to most as Frank, he was born and raised in Manhattan. He remained in the city during the first few years of his marriage to his wife, Mary (who pre-deceased him) before they moved to Chatham in the late 1970s to raise their three children: James, Claire, and Chris (who all survive Frank).
A defining characteristic was Frank’s dedication to service. He was drafted into the U.S. Army and served a combat tour in the Vietnam War, proudly serving in the 82nd Airbourne Division. After his tour in Vietnam, Frank returned home to start law school and his family. Over the next four decades, Frank spent his entire career as an attorney in the Appeals Division of the New York City Law Department. His law career provided him with a wonderful community of colleagues and a long docket of interesting and important cases that he often spoke about over the dinner table with his children.
Frank’s sense of service also defined who he was as a father. After his wife and the mother of his children passed at a young age, Frank gifted his three children with a strong sense of family and purpose in what they do with their lives. He demonstrated what it meant to love unconditionally by raising his children, caring for his aging parents, Benjamin and Mary Caputo (who each pre-deceased him), helping care for close friends with serious illnesses, and later welcoming his children’s spouses, Tess, Dan, and Megan, into his home. Over the past nine years, he served in his favorite and one of his greatest roles: grandfather to his six grandchildren. Benny, Molly, Jack, Mary, Evelyn, and Isabella all loved and were loved by Frank whom they affectionately called “Nonno.”
Those closest to Frank will remember him for his lifelong devotion to the Yankees, his brilliant wit, his later-in-life enjoyment of birdwatching, and owing to his avid reading and broad interests, his ability to talk with almost anyone about a subject important to them. Whether in his role as a father, grandfather, father-in-law, colleague, relative, or friend, Frank’s presence in the world will be deeply missed.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to either the Wounded Warrior Project (support.woundedwarriorproject.org) or the Great Swamp Watershed Association (www.greatswamp.org/donate/), two causes Frank would feel proud to be associated with.
