Obituary of David A. Pesapane

David A. Pesapane -- loving father, grandfather and brother, respected educator and football coach, devoted Boston College Eagle (67) -- died on Friday, May 28 in Raleigh, NC. He was 75. Dave was born on December 10, 1945 in New Haven to Joseph and Elizabeth (Betty) Pesapane and grew up on Center Street in West Haven. He attended Notre Dame High School where he played on the 1962 state championship football team and went on to play for Boston College. He later coached his own state championship team (1978) at St. Bernard School in Montville. Dave was a longtime volunteer for the Connecticut Special Olympics where he organized sports clinics and inspired high school athletes to serve as volunteer coaches. Dave was a young teacher when he met his future wife, Grace Franco. They married in February 1973 during a blizzard and went on to raise their four daughters in Deep River, where they lived until Grace passed away in December 2015 after 42 years of marriage. A lifelong resident of Connecticut, Dave retired to Carolina Arbors in Durham, NC five years ago to be nearer to family. He would miss authentic West Haven apizza, Italian pastry from Rocco’s and the barber shop he’d been going to since high school, but Dave made the Raleigh-Durham area his home away from home. Together with his youngest daughter Alicia, who has special needs, Dave enjoyed exploring North Carolina from the hills of Asheville to the shores of the Outer Banks -- pushing the mileage on his late wife’s ‘98 Lexus over 231,000 and he loved the tradition of having Sunday suppers at his daughter Laurie’s house in nearby Apex, NC. Dave was never seen without his Boston College logoed polo shirts, worn as a beacon to attract and strike up conversation with fellow Eagles wherever he went -- even while strolling the streets of Florence on a trip to Italy. In recent years, he dedicated hours weekly to writing his “blog” -- a carefully curated, expertly analyzed roundup of the latest Boston College athletics news. Dave was a friend for life to all he knew. He lived a blessed and happy life and took delight in the everyday gifts around him. A plaque in his living room reads, “The most important thing in life is family. Followed by football. Then food.” Indeed, family meant everything to Dave -- and his youngest daughter Alicia, born with Down Syndrome, was the light of his life. He took great care of Alicia over the years, and vice versa. It’s heartbreaking to imagine her life without him in it. A proud and loving family man, Dave is survived by his four daughters, Amy Lally (CA), Laurie Parsons (NC), Karen Zadravec (MD) and Alicia Pesapane (NC), his seven grandchildren, Allyson Zadravec, Katherine Lally, Jonathan Zadravec, Sean Lally, Kaitlyn Lally, Ryan Parsons and Evan Parsons, his sister Elizabeth (Betsey) Pesapane, brother Steven Pesapane and sister-in-law Joyce Pesapane, his brother-in-law John Franco, sons-in-law Joseph Lally, Martin Zadravec and Daniel Parsons, his nephew Andrew Hinnau and nieces Risa Pesapane, Olivia Hinnau, Liza Zanca and Beth Gilliam, and many cousins and friends. Gone too soon, Dave had more life to live and more love to give. Loved ones will miss his warm smile, big heart and zest for life -- including his delight for sampling unusual food, like rattlesnake during a trip to Colorado. He was one of a kind and will be forever missed. Visitation will be held on Friday, June 18 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at the Robinson, Wright & Weymer Funeral Home, 34 Main Street in Centerbook. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 19 at Saint Joseph’s Church, 48 Middlesex Avenue in Chester, followed by interment at the Resurrection Cemetery in Westbrook. A reception will follow. In celebration of his life, donations can be made in Dave’s name to Gigi’s Playhouse Down Syndrome Achievement Center, Raleigh (https://gigisplayhouse.org/raleigh).