Ida A. Capriole

Ida Capriole (Nana) Born April 5, 1917 in Lawrence, Massachusetts and died May 15, 2019 at Sea Coast Nursing Home, Gloucester, Massachusetts. She died peacefully while sleeping at the age of 102. She was pre-deceased by her husband, Michael C. Capriole, her daughter, Barbara Ann Wilkey, née. Capriole, and her brothers, Fred and Michael Ruggiero. Ida Capriole resided in Methuen, Ma most of her life.

Ida even as a child was resilient, she was hit by a milk truck and survived. As a young woman, she worked at one of the local mills and took care of her mother who had a heart issue. Later, she worked at Bell and Western Electric.
She met and married Michael Capriole in her early 20s. Mike walked her to work every day to get her attention. He finally did and they were married and had one child, a daughter, Barbara Ann. Ida always put family and life experiences above work and enjoyed a magical relationship with her husband Michael, her one true love. She took care of her nephews and loved them all like her own children. She enjoyed going to her brother and sister-in-law, Fred and Rosalie Ruggiero’s home for family gatherings and joking with her brother Michael.

She enjoyed traveling with her girlfriends, Betty Kidwell and Doris Bradish. She especially loved New York trips to buy clothing for Classic Threads, a store she worked at to raise money for her favorite charity in Andover. She assisted her Sister-in-law, Rosalie, in establishing the Creative Living Charity. Creative Living focused on helping those with developmental disabilities and was fundamental in establishing an alternative high school and housing for those students.

She was active in the Church throughout her life and loved god. Her faith helped her through the tragic death of her only, young daughter Barbara Wilkey from a tragic car accident and her husband Michael Capriole from leukemia. Ida never gave up.

She was a member of the Holy Rosary Church in Lawrence for most of her life and the Saint Rita’s Sodality from 1960 through 2011.

Ida was close to her granddaughter her entire life, Dana Wilkey. Dana and Ida lived together every winter. They were best friends. They had great adventures living together in California, Florida and she even went to London for a while when she was 95 years old. On her 100th birthday the Mayor of Miami Beach awarded her Ida Capriole day.
In 2009, Ida’s great grandson John Cayden Flynn was born and John and Ida lived together until she was 101 and he was 9 years old. She played with him video games, she told him her stories about her childhood and pampered him. They joked and laughed daily.

Ida credited her long life to the fact that she didn’t drink alcohol or smoke, she called it clean living. Ida always said good bye with 100 kisses, she leaves behind friends and family: Dana Wilkey, John Cayden Flynn, Michael Ruggiero, Michael Ruggiero Jr, Fred Ruggiero Jr, Betty Kidwell, Bob Capriole, Gail Capriole, James Wilkey II, Yanza Wilkey, Michael Capriole, Ruthann Dodge, Aimee and Don Pitman and family, Beverly Zoglio and Harry Zoglio, Vanesa Wilkey, James Wilkey III, Luanne and Lucille Gionnone. She joins her beautiful daughter in heaven Barbara and her loving husband Michael, as well as her brothers Fred Ruggiero and Michael Ruggiero.

There will be a memorial service to celebrate Ida Capriole’s life at Holy Rosary Church at 10am on June 14, 2019. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to Creative Living in memory of Ida Capriole. Please mail check to Creative Living Inc PO BOX 3177 Andover MA 01810 or donate through the website, https://creativelivingandover.org/waystogive/make-a-donation