It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our beloved father, Antonio N. DiCesare, who passed away peacefully surrounded by his loving family on January 30, 2025 at the age of 96. Born in Pratola Peligna, province of L’Aquila, Italy, Antonio was the son of the late Giuseppe and Laura (Liberatore) DiCesare. Antonio was predeceased by Angela, his loving wife of 60 years. Together they immigrated to Hartford in 1960, where they lived and raised their family.
Antonio worked for many years as a mason, specializing in concrete finishing and precast installation. During his career, Antonio worked on many large local landmarks in and around the Hartford Area, including the new Hartford Public High School (where at the opening ceremony he was photographed for the local newspaper, placing the original, almost 100-year-old Hartford Owl sculpture, on its new perch). Other large-scale projects he worked on included the Hartford Civic Center after the 1978 roof collapse, construction of Hartford’s City Place, Farmington’s UCONN Health Center, as well as many of the area overpasses along the greater Hartford/Connecticut Interstate system, including the Hartford pedestrian bridge spanning over I-91 from the Connecticut River Area to Downtown Hartford. His grandchildren will always remember their grandfather telling the story of how he worked on the construction of the Hartford Tunnel, from I-84 to Downtown Hartford, as they passed through the tunnel with him.
Antonio was a gifted athlete who enjoyed sports. In his early years, he enjoyed downhill skiing and began his lifelong passion for soccer. Not only did he love to play soccer, but he also enjoyed watching any game, but especially his favorite team, Inter-Milan. In addition to soccer, Antonio enjoyed bowling on the Hartford Italian Bowling League at Newington’s T-Bowl Lanes, taking home many first place trophies.
After his retirement, and for the next 30 years, he and Angela enjoyed many vacations, traveling to numerous destinations. Antonio also enjoyed many beautiful days sitting at local beaches, lakes or pools, or on long rides almost anywhere, including to one of his favorite spots, Kent Falls State Park in Connecticut for family picnics.
Wanting to always keep busy, Antonio would spend his summers working in his vegetable garden and nurturing his fig trees and rose bushes. He always enjoyed and shared the fruits of his labor with friends and family.
A devoted husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, Antonio will be dearly missed by his four children, Laura Galasyn and husband Peter, Giorgio DiCesare and wife Maria, Luisa Buckler and husband Scott, Giuseppe DiCesare and wife Dawn, his eight adored grandchildren, Nicholas DiCesare, Stephanie Wells and husband Johnny, Jessica DiCesare, David and Jenna Galasyn, Jeffrey DiCesare and partner Faith Memolo, Tyler and Drew DiCesare and his three cherished great-grandchildren, Jackson, Olivia and Parker Wells. He is also survived by his sister-in-law, Antonina DiSimone of Toronto, Canada, as well as many cherished nieces and nephews in the U.S., Canada, Italy and Argentina.
In addition to his wife and parents, Antonio was predeceased by his six siblings, Nunziatina DiCesare, Vittorio (Rosa) DiCesare, Gino (Fiora) Montazzi, Salvatore DiCesare, Guido (Elena) DiCesare and their sons Aldo and Walter, and Concettina (Domenico) Marchesano, as well as his in-laws, Luigi and Loreta (Presutti), Mario (Claudia) Presutti and their son James, Nunziata (Cesidio) Zavarella and their son Luigi and grandson Kenneth Broussard, Donato DiSimone, and Edoardo Presutti.
The family would like to thank his many doctors from Starling Physicians, especially Dr. John Wisniewski, his PCP for many years, and The Hospice Team of Hartford Healthcare for their kind and compassionate care.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday, February 6, at 10:00 a.m. at Maria Reina de la Paz Parish (St. Lawrence O’Toole Church), 494 New Britain Avenue, Hartford. Everyone is asked to please meet at church. Entombment will follow in Cedar Hill Cemetery, Hartford. Family and friends may call on Wednesday, February 5, from 4-7 p.m. at the D’Esopo Funeral Chapel, 277 Folly Brook Boulevard, Wethersfield.
Donations in Antonio’s memory may be made to Maria Reina de la Paz Parish (St. Lawrence O’Toole Church), 494 New Britain Avenue, Hartford, Connecticut 06106, where Antonio was a faithful and devoted communicant since 1960. To share a memory of Antonio with his family, please visit www.desopofuneralchapel.com
Antonio will be remembered for his kindness, quiet sense of humor, and strong work ethic. He taught his children the importance of faith and family. His unwavering support and guidance will continue to inspire us all, and he will be deeply missed by all who knew him. Antonio lived by the following words, “do something nice for someone, and forget it. If you cause harm, remember it always.”
