Obituary of Joseph R. Capua

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Joseph R. Capua Sr., former CEO of Delta F Corporation, passed away peacefully with his loving family by his side on the morning of Friday, May 29 2020.  The beloved husband of Ellen (Morgan), Joe was 59 years old.

Joe was born in Winchester and was raised and educated in Woburn.  He was a 1979 graduate of Woburn High School.   During high school he excelled in many sports including football, basketball, and track. Joe met his future wife, Ellen Morgan, when they were sophomores at Woburn High. Joe went on to graduate from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering.  He was as active in college as he was in high school and was a member of various clubs, played football, and ran indoor track. He was also a member of Phi Kappa Theta fraternity through which he created many lifelong friendships. Joe and Ellen married in 1984 and recently celebrated their 35^th wedding anniversary this past November with a large gathering of family and friends. 

Joe had a long and distinguished career in the high-tech manufacturing industry.  He worked for Delta F in Woburn for over 20 years where he played a vital role in the company’s growth and success. He started his career at Delta F as a Service Manager in 1987 and rose to the position of President and CEO in 2008.  After leaving Delta F in 2011, he joined Ellen in the Real Estate field working for Lamacchia Realty.    Joe was a member of the Rotary Club of Burlington. He was very involved in the many charitable activities of the organization and in 2018 Joe was recognized at the club’s annual awards ceremony for his many contributions. 

Joe was an active man.  He enjoyed biking and hiking. He hiked Mt. Washington this past September with his family to celebrate completing his most recent round of cancer treatment.  Joe took great pride in maintaining his yard on Michael Drive in Burlington.    There was no landscaper that could meet his expectations, so he did all the work on his own! Joe and Ellen loved their home in Burlington and made many lifelong friendships while living there.

Of the many roles that Joe held throughout his life, the most important one was that of a family man. He was devoted to his wife Ellen, their four children, and his grandchildren.  He had a close and loving relationship with his parents Rosario and Lois, who lived with Joe and Ellen for many years.   Joe always looked forward to hosting family gatherings.  Christmas Eve at the Capua home was an event that you did not want to miss.  As a family they enjoyed vacationing at their home at Old Orchard Beach.  Joe and Ellen also took many memorable trips to Aruba together.  Joe provided his four children with unconditional love and encouraged them to work hard and achieve their goals.    His three granddaughters Celia, Lena and Elani brought him immense joy.  Just seeing his beautiful granddaughters would bring a huge smile to Joe’s face. 

Joe fought hard throughout several battles with cancer.  His passing leaves his family with a heavy heart but also with many loving memories.   Joe will be remembered as a selfless man who always put the needs of others before his own.

Joe's family will be having a celebration of Joe's life at a later date.  If you would like to be invited to the celebration of life, please contact the family at joecapuamemorial@gmail.com

Joe was the beloved husband of Ellen (Morgan).  He was the loving father of Kristine Morse & her husband Ryan of Peterborough, NH, Erica Capua & her fiancé Ramon Ortiz of North Andover, Marissa Capua & her girlfriend Kerry Kenneally of North Chelmsford and Jay Capua & his fiancé Jacob DeMasi of Waltham.  Proud grandfather of Celia, Lena & Elani.  Loving son of Rosario Capua & the late Lois (Mastroianni) of Burlington, formerly of Woburn.  Brother of Richard Capua & his wife Ellen of Nashua, NH, Regina McGowan & her husband Joseph of Andover and the late Patricia DeClemente & her late husband Michael.  

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Charles Church on Wednesday, June 3 at 11:30 a.m.  Due to the space limitations, all services will be by invitation only. Interested parties are asked to contact the family at joecapuamemorial@gmail.com or 781-281-8174 to be considered for invitation. You are welcome to watch a live stream of the Mass by going to the Edward V Sullivan Funeral Home Website at 11:30 a.m.  In lieu of flowers memorials in Joe’s name may be made to the American Cancer Society.

Eulogy by Kristine, Erica, Marissa & Jay

A quote about grief:

“Grief, I’ve learned, is really just love. It’s all the love you want to give, but cannot. All that unspent love gathers up in the corners of your eyes, the lump in your throat, and in that hollow part of your chest. Grief is just love with no place to go.” Dad, we want to thank you for everything you’ve done for us. For everything you’ve taught us. For your unconditional love and support. For how proud you always were of us. For your loyalty. You instilled in us confidence and how to really set your mind to anything you wanted to accomplish. You pushed us to test our boundaries, and at times, you believed in us more that we believed in ourselves. You leave behind a beautiful legacy. You taught us the importance of family. You and mom built a life and a bond that we will continue to honor and build for the rest of our lives. But you also taught us to lean on each other. We have an amazing and unique bond as siblings that is unbreakable. After all, there was never any other option. You freely offered your wisdom, patience, and guidance any time we were scared, worried, or insecure, and it never came from a place of judgement. You were self-sufficient and taught us how to be the same, but we always knew we could count on your support when things got tough.  You were unapologetically yourself. You carried yourself with such confidence and never allowed the judgement of others to get in the way of what made you happy. Wherever you went, your presence was immediately felt and you lit up the room. You made every single person you spoke with feel important, and could connect with others on an individual level, no matter your differences. Every person had some sort of inside joke with you. We will forever be grateful for your silly and fun side, but also your compassionate and caring quiet side. Although you were a man of few words, every word you spoke meant something and got people to listen and trust you. You showed us the meaning of resilience, perseverance, and strength, but also how to be humble. You never bragged, you never sought out sympathy or a pass. You were just given a task and set your mind to accomplishing it. And that is a mindset that we will forever strive to live by. You were a man of remarkable strength, and you were not afraid to show your vulnerable side. It made you real.

You were the epitome of self-discipline, whether that be hours-long bike rides, building a stone wall, or working tirelessly to support our family. Your relentless commitment to accomplishing your goals was admirable and inspiring.  You had so much in your life to be proud of, things that you worked so hard to achieve. But we want you to know how proud we are of you. We are so immensely proud to be your children, to call you our dad. We never had to question if you loved us. You told us that every day. You took so much pride in your work, but always made time for your family.  Seeing the outpouring of love and support from so many different people in all different parts of your life--people we never even knew--makes us see that we’re not just biased because you were our dad. You were truly a great man, a gentleman, a leader, a fighter. And you were a hero to so many different people. You weren’t just our dad, but you were a loving husband, son, brother, cousin, uncle, Papa, and friend to so many. We will share stories of you often with our children, about the incredible man you were. There never was, and never will be, another person like you. Please watch down on us, but trust that we will keep mom safe and protect her in the way that you would have wanted to. We were so blessed to be raised by two parents who exemplified what true love is for each other and for their family. Through your commitment to mom, you showed us how to love but also how we deserve to be loved. Not only that, but you set the example for how to be a parent. You fought the ultimate battle and you were so strong. We know you are flying high with the angels. We miss you terribly. Life will simply never be the same, but we will see you again. Dad, we love you to the heavens and back.