William Anthony Guzze Jr.

It is with heavy hearts that we announce William Anthony Guzze Jr., 76, passed away peacefully on Friday, December 27th, 2024. Bill, as he was known, was a beloved father, grandfather, brother, uncle, and friend who leaves us surrounded by love and countless cherished memories.

Bill was a proud Italian American born in New Britain, CT on April 17, 1948 to the late William and Aurora (DiFrancesco) Guzze. Growing up in New Britain, Bill excelled in school and on the football field. Bill was a center for Pulaski High School and went on to play football at Springfield College. Bill graduated with his Master’s in Education from SCSU and was a devoted educator and coach.

Bill’s legacy will live on in his son Todd Guzze and daughter Cara Belvin and husband Shane. Bill was a proud and doting grandfather, “Big Papi”, to Jack William and Haley Kathleen Guzze of California, and Murphy James and Ava Mae Belvin of Massachusetts. He leaves behind his brother Glenn and brother John, and wife Roxanne, and many beloved aunts, uncles and cousins. In John, Bill had a loyal friend who could always be counted on to be by his side. He was “Uncle Bill” to many very special nieces and nephews. He would often say, “You are truly lucky to have one good friend in this life” and will be forever grateful for lifelong friendships, among them John Lepito and Mike Masiuk.

Bill was predeceased by his beloved wife Kathleen “Kit” Murphy. Kit meant everything to Bill, and the love he had for her and their children Todd and Cara was the kind of love that could change the world. Bill will rest with Kit at St. Thomas cemetery in Southington, CT with a headstone that reads, “Kit: She laughed. She loved.”, “Bill: He shared. He cared.”

He gave everything he had to his children and raised them in a loving home with countless memories of snow igloos in the winter, family skits in the living room with trivia questions and prizes for the winners, Christmas in July, neighborhood Olympics and more. Bill was a storyteller with a quick wit and dry sense of humor and known for his many one-liners, life lessons, and sports analogies.

Bill instilled a love of sports in Todd and Cara and taught them the values of teamwork and perseverance. He never missed a chance to coach them and their friends in any given sport and never missed one of their high school or college tennis matches. Bill loved trading sports memorabilia, and coin collections, and knew practically every high school mascot across CT. He is remembered for many “Mr. Guzze -isms”, and chances are you got your favorite nickname from him. In fact, you are probably still laughing about something he once said, or a story he once told.

The funeral mass will be held on Saturday February 1st, 2025 at 11:00am in St. Dominic Church, 1050 Flanders Road in Southington, CT. Everyone is asked to meet directly at the church with a burial to follow at St. Thomas Cemetery, 342 Meriden Avenue in Southington, CT. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to a charity of your choice in Bill’s memory.