Mary Lou Cappelloni

Mary Lou Sprunk was born in Chaffee, North Dakota, on August 12, 1932. Before starting the eighth grade, Mary Lou and the Sprunk family moved to Wheatland, North Dakota. There, Mary Lou is most remembered for her skills as a basketball player at Wheatland High School.

A four-letter varsity women’s basketball athlete, Mary Lou led her team to a second-place state finish in 1950. In 1951, she led Wheatland High School to their first Women’s North Dakota State Championship. As an example of her remarkable skill, during a 1950 semifinal playoff game, Mary Lou scored the last 13 points in the final two minutes of play to seal a come-from-behind victory for Wheatland.

After graduating from high school, Mary Lou headed east to Minneapolis to attend Glenview Hills Nursing School, where she completed her degree. While there, she met a good friend, Janis Hochstein. Together, they headed west by car to California, where Mary Lou worked at Sharp’s Memorial Hospital in San Diego.

Mary Lou’s sister, Roseann, was also living in San Diego at the time, and Roseann’s husband, Rodney, was serving in the Navy, specializing in electronics. When Rodney’s Navy tour was completed, he decided to move to San Jose for employment in the growing electronics industry in the Bay Area. At that time, Roseann was pregnant and in need of assistance, and Mary Lou decided to accompany her sister and brother-in-law to San Jose.

This is where Mary Lou met Louis D. Cappelloni, and they ultimately married on January 16, 1960. Mary Lou and Louis had two sons, Stephen and John.

It was not easy for Mary Lou and the boys to be accepted into the Cappelloni family. In Louis Cappelloni’s generation, it was not common for a person of Germanic ancestry to be eagerly welcomed into the traditionally Italian Cappelloni family, even though Mary Lou was Catholic. However, Mary Lou was loving, patient, and persevering. She was most grateful for the support and thoughtfulness of the Marianelli cousins, Elaine and Louis Figone, and Mary Jane and Angelo Sunseri.

Mary Lou’s husband passed away in September of 2000, succumbing to stomach and esophageal cancer.

Mary Lou is survived by both her sons, Stephen and John. Stephen, a chemist at San José State University, has a tenureship of nearly 37 years. He is married to Kim, and they have been together for 31 years. Stephen and Kim have a son, Michael, and a daughter, Kayla (Polly).

John lives and works in the greater Phoenix, Arizona area as a highly proficient computer scientist. Both sons are proud graduates of San José State University.

May Mary Lou rest in peace in the presence of the Heavenly Father and His Son. Take care to all, and God bless.