Obituary of Antonio Iannuzzi

Antonio “Tony” Iannuzzi, owner of A-1 Foto Lab & Studio in Billerica, passed away at his home on Saturday morning, March 21, 2009. The husband of Eva G. (Pedulla) he was 69 years old. Tony was born in Salerno Italy. He was one of seven children born to the late Pasquale and Anna Stella Iannuzzi. He was raised in Caracas Venezuela. Tony came to the United States to study electronics at Coyne Electric & Technical School in Boston. He met his wife Eva while attending school and they married shortly thereafter. He worked in electronics and photography. He owned Albert Photo Studio in Waltham. They returned to Caracas from 1974 to 1978. They returned to the United States in 1978 and settled in Burlington where they have resided for the past 31 years. He wanted to use his electronics background and went to work for M/A-Com in Burlington for 9 years. In 1992 he decided he enjoyed being his own boss and opened A-1 Foto Lab & Studio located in Billerica. He enjoyed the interaction with his customers and helping to perserve their many special memories and events. He enjoyed working with the local youth sports programs with their team photographs. Tony had a number of activities and interests outside of his work. He was a long time Burlington Youth Soccer coach. He loved sharing his knowledge and passion for the game with his children and their teamates. Tony was an active member of the Knights of Columbus in Burlington. His family was the most important part o Tony’s life. He was a devoted and loving husband. He was a supportive and proud father, whom he also had the priveledge of sharing his work with as well. He enjoyed his time with large extended family as well. He enjoyed the holidays, special events, family gatherings, and the monthly card games with his brother-in-laws. He was a good friend and will be lovingly remembered. Tony was the beloved husband of Eva G. (Pedulla) Iannuzzi. He was the loving father of Anna Molettieri & her husband Gino of Reading, Adriana Guzzo & her husband Jay of North Reading, and Alexander Iannuzzi of Tewksbury & his fiancée Jennifer Ambrose. He was the proud grandfather of Isabel, Lydia and Ethan Molettieri and Julia Guzzo. He was the brother of Gilda DelMedico, Raffaela Limongi, Rita Greco, Rosita D’Andrea, Guglielmo Iannuzzi all of Salerno, Italy, and the late Maria Lamassa. Funeral from the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., BURLINGTON (Exit 34 off Rt. 128, Woburn side) on Wednesday, March 25 at 9 a.m. Followed by a Mass of Christian Burial in St. Malachy’s Church, 99 Bedford St., Burlington at 10 a.m. Visiting hours Tuesday 4-8 p.m. Interment in Woodlawn Cemetery, Everett. Memorials in Tony’s name may be made to All Care Hospice, 16 City Hall Square, Lynn, MA 01901 or Lahey Clinic c/o Philanthropy, 41 Mall Road, Burlington, MA 01805. Family Remembrance It is difficult to put in words everything that our Dad meant to us. Over the last couple of days we have recalled a lot of memories of him and of our family life together. He was a loving husband, a kind father, a generous grandfather, a good friend, a compassionate teacher, an inspiring coach, a life long self directed student and a giving human being. The three of us got together and thought about the ways our Dad inspired us most. We wrote it from our individual perspectives so that we may each share with you, today what we hold in our minds and hearts. Anna Dad was a great story teller and listener of stories. He loved to hear people’s stories; where they came from, where they lived, what they did for work. In fact, one of his favorite jobs was one that he had part time as an airport limo driver. He loved to talk to people about where they had been and where they were heading, what was going on in their lives and most importantly the similarities they had in common. He would even be requested in advance for pick up by customers who enjoyed his company. When we were kids he also loved to tell us stories of how it was for him to grow up in Italy. How he played with buttons and the shells of walnuts instead of toys, how his Mom had to mind for 14 children, 7 of her own and 7 of her sisters’ when the war broke out, or the time during the war when there was a bombing and they all had to seek shelter in caves for protection and the fear they felt when they realized they left one sister at home. I also think it was stories that connected him to photography. Because in the pictures a story is told. There was never a family event that went by that we did not have a camera to document what we did, and he would tell us, at times in response to our frustration of holding a pose a bit too long; “You are going to want the pictures someday to remind you of what we did.” He is right, we do want to remember every moment that you touched our lives Dad. Adriana Dad was an amazing teacher, no matter what the task, big or small, difficult or simple. Whether it be a second grade science fair project or a more serious life decision he was always by our side offering advice and assistance. As children we had several opportunities to work along side him in the various projects he was working on around the house. Building our shed, tiling our floor or gardening in the yard were some of the great times spent with dad. As visitors or neighbors it was not uncommon to hear the sound of the hammer or busy power tools hard at work. In between all of the hard work one would be able to hear amazing conversation or lessons. The topic of all of the chatter certainly ran the gamut; simple directions, discussions about friends or just heartfelt interest about our days events. He provided such amazing perspective, being optimistic and calm, his glass was always half full. In his lessons he would give us courage to take risks. Taught us how not to be scared and to be confident of ourselves and our decisions no matter how it would turn out. Dad, we will miss those great talks, informative lessons and the simple concern you showed for what was going on in our lives. Alex Dad was my best friend. On March 21st I lost my best friend and gained a guardian angel. He was the type of man that would be there for you no matter what. Whatever situation he was put in, Father, boss or friend. He supported me in all my decisions. He listened to everything with an open mind. Whatever problem I may have had, from hard business decisions to what Truck, Quad or snowmobile I wanted next. He may have shaken his head but I knew he was listening. Dad listened to us without making judgments and taught us to do the same. Dad made everyone laugh even in his last days of life. I will never forget as sick as he was he woke up after hours of sleep and slowly glanced at everyone packed in his room and said “what is this a conference room?. Followed by that my mother told my father of a few that were waiting by his bedside and he turns and says “Hey you want to play cards?” He was the type to make light of a situation because he knew the pain it was causing everyone else. Dad was a regular with all my friends in our weekend card games and made us laugh. He wasn’t known as Mr. Iannuzzi he was known as Tony just one of the guys. He was the friend that if he couldn’t play we didn’t want to play. He taught me that scratch tickets were not the way to go …. Keno was. I remember growing up as kids watching the numbers game on television with him. He would get so mad and slam his hand on the table and mumble something in one of the three languages he spoke. I would say Dad what number did you have. He would tell me and I would say “Dad that’s not even close” that’s all he had to do was look and I knew to drop it. He made you feel comfortable whether you just met him or known him for years. I would tend to customers quite frequently that would just stop in just to talk with him or find my friends talking with him and when I asked “when did you get here”? The common response was about twenty minutes ago. No matter how bad you thought you had it my dad found something positive and made you at ease. Dad always put other people first. During the three and a half years of battling cancer off and on chemo treatments he would always offer waking up early to open the store on a Saturday morning so I would be able to have breakfast with my fiancé. He was a man of family ethics. He showed how to love and not be afraid to. I witnessed this everyday at work. He loved my mother. Dad you taught us to be funny and caring at the same time. Dad we thank you for this.