Dominic Capogna Sr. (1936-2021)
Dominic John Capogna Sr., 85, an area resident for 61 years, died June 2 at his home.
Born April 2, 1936, in the Bronx, he was the son of Attilio and Jenny (Terracciano) Capogna. He was employed as a carpenter for Local 323 in Beacon. On June 30, 1956, at St. Denis Church in Yonkers, he married Geraldine Rosato.
Dominic was a parishioner of St. Columba Church in Hopewell Junction and a member of St. Mary’s Council 4065, the Knights of Columbus and the Elks. He volunteered at St. Columba Church in Hopewell Junction and Graymoor in Garrison and enjoyed golfing, bowling, fishing and woodworking.
Along with his wife, he is survived by his sons, Gerard, Dominic Jr. and John Dominic; his grandchildren, Lindsay and Michael Baxter, Vincent and Jonina Capogna, and Samuel Capogna; and his great-grandchildren, Zoey and Michael Baxter and Elyana and Sofia Capogna.
He is also survived by his siblings, Ralph Capogna (Phyllis), Anna Pugliese, Susan Stanton (Raymond) and Jenny Capogna; and his sister-in-law, Marie Capogna. He was looking forward to the birth of his fifth great-grandchild in December.
Calling hours will be held on Sunday (June 6) from 2 to 6 p.m. at McHoul Funeral Home in Hopewell Junction. The Mass of Christian Burial will be offered on Monday (June 7) at 10 a.m. at St. Columba Church, followed by entombment at Fishkill Rural Cemetery.
Memorial donations may be made to the East Fishkill Police Department or the East Fishkill Rescue Squad.
Victor DiGiovanni (1936-2021)
Victor J. DiGiovanni, 84, a lifelong area resident, died May 29 at Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie.
Born in Poughkeepsie on June 7, 1936, he was the son of Victor and Marion (Costa) DiGiovanni. Victor was a corrections officer at the Fishkill Correctional Facility for 22 years until his retirement in 1980. He was a member of the Mase Hook & Ladder Co. in Beacon and the Elks Lodge in Wappingers Falls.
On May 30, 1975, in Fishkill, he married Carol Post, who died on May 27, 2020.
Victor is survived by his children, Joseph DiGiovanni (Linda), Diane Patterson (David) and Paul DiGiovanni (Dawn Murasso); and his grandchildren, Joseph and Lauren DiGiovanni, Niccole Butch, Paul Michael DiGiovanni, Annalise DiGiovanni, Autumn DiGiovanni, Aaron DiGiovanni and Jeremy and Sophie Murasso.
He is also survived by his great-grandchildren, Braelyn, Snoh, Makenzie, Rylee, Ava and Hunter; his siblings, Lorraine Valez (Rico), Loretta Heinz (Gary) and Albert DiGiovanni (Carol).
A funeral service was held on June 3 at McHoul Funeral Home in Hopewell Junction, followed by interment in Wappingers Rural Cemetery.
Memorial donations may be made to MARC-Bolger House, Addiction Treatment, 230 Church St., Poughkeepsie, NY 12601.
Louise Jakuba (1931-2021)
Louise Scott Jakuba, 89, died May 28 at Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie.
She was born Sept. 5, 1931, the daughter of Alfred and Hattie (Niles) Scott. She grew up on a farm outside of Walden and graduated from Walden High School and Spencerian Business School. She worked as a payroll clerk for the Firth Carpet Co. in Newburgh.
On Feb. 10, 1951, she married John Jakuba, who died in 1995.
Louise was a member of the Melzingah Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Beacon, the Hopewell Reformed Church in Hopewell Junction and the Wednesday Club. She volunteered many years for the East Fishkill Library, from Fishkill Plains to its present location. She was also an election inspector. Louise enjoyed playing bridge, the piano and, most of all, reading.
She is survived by her three sons, John Scott Jakuba and wife Michele, James M. Jakuba and wife Lisa, and Jeffrey B. Jakuba. Also surviving are her four grandchildren, Jillian, Adelina, Kavan and James.
A funeral service was held on June 1 at Hopewell Reformed Church, followed by interment in Hopewell Cemetery.
Memorial donations may be made to Hopewell Reformed Church (hrcrca.org), the Melzingah Chapter of the DAR (melzingahnsdar.org) or Hudson Valley Hospice (hvhospice.org).
Carolyn Pecora (1926-2021)
Mary Carolyn Pecora, 95, formerly of Beacon, died May 29 at a senior living facility in Gulf Breeze, Florida.
She was born in Tremont, Mississippi, on Jan. 5, 1926, the daughter of A.P. and Gladys Massey. When she was an infant, her family moved to Memphis, where her father found work in a sawmill. At 5 years old, during the Great Depression, they moved back to Mississippi, where her father bought a farm in an area called Liberty, just outside of Noxapater.
When Carolyn was in the 8th grade, they moved back to Memphis, where she attended Humes High School. She graduated in January 1945 and went to work for the wartime Office of Price Administration.
She met her husband, Ralph, at a U.S. Navy canteen dance and they were married on June 22, 1946, at St. Peter’s Cathedral in Memphis. He died in 2014. They lived at Penn State University for a few years so Ralph could attend under the GI Bill. While there, Carolyn worked as a secretary in the Home Economics Department and the library.
After Ralph graduated, they moved to Beacon, where Carolyn worked for the Ethel Rhodes Dress Shop and for Drs. Zinney and Weiner, optometrists, as an office manager. She and Ralph were longtime members of St. John the Evangelist Church. She was a great cook, a seamstress, an avid reader and loved to travel. In 1989 they moved to Gulf Breeze, and then to Fishkill in 2000.
Carolyn was a Girl Scout leader, president of the St. John’s Women’s Club and vice president of the Ladies Auxiliary at Highland Hospital.
She is survived by her children, Deborah Pettorossi, Gail Gates (Tom) and Paul Pecora (Tami); seven grandchildren: Mark (Lauren), David (Samantha), Melanie, Steven (Chris), Michelle (Chase), Elizabeth, (Billy) and Michael; and six great-grandchildren: Jayda, Reagan, Antonio, Alyssa, Addison and Colt. In addition, she is survived by her brother, Charles Massey (Fran); a sister-in-law, Joyce Massey; and a brother-in-law, Cliff Hedrick.
Friends and family will gather on June 22 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Riverview Funeral Home by Halvey in Beacon. A service will be held at the funeral home at 1 p.m., followed by interment at Fishkill Rural Cemetery.
Memorial donations may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (stjude.org).
Ed Tucker Sr. (1943-2021)
Edward Tucker Sr., 78, a former Beacon school board member, died on May 23 at his home in Wappingers Falls.
He was born in the South Bronx on May 26, 1943, and later adopted by Leroy and Bertha (Vance) Tucker. Following the death of his mother, he was raised by his aunt, Charlotte Vance. He married Patricia Lancaster. After that marriage ended in divorce, he married Attie Dolby in 1973.
Ed was educated in the Catholic school system and graduated from Fordham University as salutatorian, earning a bachelor’s degree in public administration. In 1977, he earned a master’s degree in political science from Marist College.
He twice served on the Beacon School Board and with the Dutchess County Democratic Party, which honored him for his leadership.
Ed worked as a corrections counselor at Green Haven Correctional Facility and later was promoted to superintendent at the Beacon Correctional Facility. He also served as superintendent at Sing Sing Correctional Facility and deputy superintendent at the Sullivan and Woodbourne correctional facilities. He also taught at the King College in New Jersey.
In 1998, Ed retired from teaching and the Department of Corrections and devoted the remainder of his life to politics.
A memorial service was held on June 2 at Rhodes Funeral Home in Poughkeepsie.
Joseph Verdile (1939-2021)
Joseph A. Verdile, 82, of Holmes, and formerly of Beacon, died on May 30.
He was born May 1, 1939, the son of Joseph and Julia Verdile. After graduating from Beacon High School in 1957, he attended Dutchess Community College and served in the U.S. Army Reserves. He retired from Texaco Research Center in Glenham in 1994 and spent the winter months in Fort Lauderdale.
Joseph is survived by his sister Regina Norman (Thomas Norman) and his nieces and nephews, Linda Fullen (Craig), Thomas Norman Jr. (Karen), Lu Ann Guerra (John), Kim Dodd (Al), Jolene Verdile, Jeffrey Verdile (Margaret), Anthony (Lisa) Verdile, Renee McCormick (John) and Julia Verdile.
A Mass of Christian Burial was held June 4 at St. Joachim Church in Beacon, followed by burial with military honors at St. Joachim Cemetery. Memorial donations may be made to Hudson Valley Hospice (hvhospice.org).