Nicola DeFazio

Nick was born in Catanzaro, Calabria, Italy and immigrated to the United States and resided in Connecticut as a young man. He has lived in Port Charlotte, Florida since 1981. During his early years in the United States, Nick joined the U.S. Army and served in combat in the Vietnam War. Nicola truly lived the American Dream as he was the founder and owner of Nicola's Italian Kitchen, a popular restaurant in Englewood, which his family now operates.

Nicola was an inspiration to many. He will be remembered not only for the heroic manner in which he battled cancer, but also for his optimistic and fun personality, the kindness he showed to everyone he met and for the endless love he had for his family.

He is survived by his wife, Tina (Mazzonna) DeFazio; their two daughters, Teresa Crews and her husband Brian of Winter Park, FL, Rina Remmers and her husband Hans of Port Charlotte; and his beloved grandchildren who were his inspiration for the tremendous battle he fought everyday, Isabella and James Crews and Nico and Gia Remmers. He is also survived by his sister Marie Gulli and her husband Peter of New Britain, CT and many loving aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews and Godchildren. Nicola will also be missed by his friends, who he very much enjoyed spending time with.

Visitation will be on Friday, January 25th at the Kays-Ponger & Uselton Funeral Home at 2405 Harbor Blvd., Port Charlotte from 5:00pm to 9:00pm. Funeral liturgy will begin at 11:00am on Saturday, January 26th at St Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, 21505 Augusta Avenue, Port Charlotte. Burial will follow at 2401 Englewood Rd, Englewood. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in Nicola's honor to: The Yah Yah Girls, a local organization whose mission it is to feed the children of Charlotte County who would otherwise spend the weekends hungry, contact Director Jolene Mowry at 941-875-9747 or [email protected] or Meals on Wheels Inc of Englewood to feed our senior citizens in need of assistance with healthy meals. Contact Christel Suhr, PO Box 782, Englewood, FL 34295 or call 941-474-4445. To light a candle in Nicola's memory or to sign the guestbook, please visit www.kays-ponger.com.