Obituaries

Giacomo "Jack" Fiorello

April 09, 1937 - November 09, 2024

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Obituary For Giacomo "Jack" Fiorello

To view the funeral service for Jack, click on the link below. The livestream will begin approximately ten minutes prior to the service.

Ryan Funeral Home Madison - YouTube

Giacomo “Jack” Fiorello, the husband of Giuseppina “Josie” Capello and father to son Salvatore and daughter Virginia, son of Salvatore Fiorello and Vincenza Inzirillo, brother to Francesca and Giuseppina, father-in-law to Rebecca Messbarger, grandfather to Julian, Maxwell, Audrey, Zachary, and Meghan, and great-grandfather to Sophia and Madelyn Josephine, passed away on November 09, 2024. He was 87 years old.

Jack immigrated to the United States from Sicily in 1960 and married his love, Josie Cappello, who arrived in the United States several years before him. Jack and Josie faced a significant hardship in the early years of their marriage with the death of their first child. In 1963, Jack and Josie had their son Salvatore (Sam), followed four years later by the birth of their daughter Virginia. Jack worked hard to learn the language and adapt to a very different culture and, in 1968, became a U.S. citizen.

Jack worked in the construction industry from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s. While there, he helped construct many buildings on the University of Wisconsin Madison campus. Jack took great pride in his work, knowing that he played a part in building one of the world’s great university campuses. After an injury, Jack was forced to pivot to less physically demanding work. Then, he began his more than two-decade career with the Madison Metropolitan School District as a custodian. Jack loved this job, forging great relationships with teachers, administrators, and students. Jack’s motto in all he did was, “If you are going to be one, be a great one.”

In his mid-sixties, Jack retired from his full-time work to focus on his true loves: his wife Josie, his children, his grandchildren, his hunting property, and gardening.

After a more than six-year stay in St. Mary’s Care Center, he died peacefully. Jack will be remembered for his smile, sense of humor, and friendliness to all. Jack’s memory will be a blessing to us all.

A funeral service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 23, 2024, at Ryan Funeral Home, 5701 Odana Road. Visitation will be held from 10:00 a.m. until the time of service on Saturday at the funeral home. Entombment will follow at Resurrection Catholic Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to: the Alzheimer’s Association - https://act.alz.org/site/Donation or the Lewy Body Dementia Association - https://www.lbda.org/donors

To view and sign this guestbook, please visit: www.ryanfuneralservice.com

Services

23 Nov

Visitation

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

Ryan Funeral Homes – Madison West 5701 Odana Road Madison, WI 53719 Get Directions »
23 Nov

Funeral Service

11:00 AM

Ryan Funeral Homes – Madison West 5701 Odana Road Madison, WI 53719 Get Directions »
by Obituary Assistant

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Condolences

  • November 19, 2024

    Jack was my custodian at Van Hise Middle School. He was the best custodian I ever had in my 37 years of teaching. He took great care of me. Always a smile and a story. If I remember correctly, he contacted family in Sicily when one of our teachers was going to visit there in the summer, so they could perhaps meet up. Since he and Josie live a couple of houses from our daughter, I was able to chat with him no and then after I retired. I last chatted with him when he (and my Dad) were at St. Mary's Health Care Center. A great guy, he made the world a better place.

  • November 18, 2024

  • November 17, 2024

    My deepest sympathies to Jack's family. He was truly a ray of sunshine. Always smiling, kind, and positive about the day. Just crossing his path in the halls of Memorial High School would brighten my day. He even shared the seeds for his flowers that we planted in the courtyard at Memorial. He will be missed and remembered fondly. He was an angel among us.

  • November 14, 2024

    My deepest sympathies to Jacks family. I met Josie at Noel Manor when I worked there and she would go and see her dear husband all the time at St. Mary's Care center. She always spoke so highly of him, I wish I could have met him. Josie was always a delight, my thoughts are with Josie and her family at this sad time❤️

  • November 14, 2024

    Our family met Jack when our eldest child, Andrew, had the great blessing of joining the family of children whom Josie cared for. Our infant daughter Katie joined him soon after. Jack was always a ray of positivity, regardless of what circumstances at hand may be. The photo is exactly how I remember him, always smiling and cheerful; making the best of any situation. His careful attention to his beautiful garden was unmatched, as was his love for his family. He always had a warm greeting for everyone coming and going. His memory will indeed be a blessing for all who had the good fortune to know him.

  • November 13, 2024

    Our family had the greatest of fortunes when looking for day care for our daughter Jocelyn in 1981 Josie and Jack entered our lives. They couldn't have been a more loving and caring couple. Dropping off Jocelyn and then four years later in addition our son Andrew, we were always greeted with the warmest of smiles. And pick up was unfailingly delightful as we heard about everyone's day. In the summer that almost always included walking to the back yard so Jack could give a tour of his vegetable garden which he tended with such care. And fresh pears off Jack's pear tree our kids have never forgotten. Particularly not to be forgotten was Jack's pride in keeping his precious fig tree alive through winter after winter although inevitably disappointed with the lack of figs - but being Jack treating that outcome like he did with all things with the best of joyous spirits. Thank you, Jack, for having spread sunshine on our family during the early years of our children's lives, and left us all a lifetime of happy memories.

  • November 12, 2024

    We have the land next to Jack's on 4th Avenue. Always enjoyed the hunting seasons where our groups would get together to talk over the days hunt. Jack was a great guy and he really loved the land. Nick Martin

  • November 12, 2024

    I am so sorry to hear about the passing of the kindness man I knew. I took care of Jack at St Marys from the day he arrived until I left in 2023. Jack always greeted me every morning with a huge smile on his face. He would say "Good Morning Amy. How are you today?" When my mom was sick and in her final days he always asked about her and gave me comforting words to help me though my day. I will never forget the day I was singing and dancing around the dining room serving lunch and he stops me and says "Amy, DO NOT QUIT YOUR DAY JOB." Oh everyone had a good laugh that day and I still tell others about that day. The day I told him and Josie I was leaving they both hugged me and we all cried together. I will always remember not only Jack but Josie and their wonderful children, grandchildren we would chat with during covid via facetime. May peace find you in your time of need. Amy J former CNA at SMCC

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