Nick Fazzina lived a life full of love, song, and laughter. It was cut short by COVID-19
It could truly be said that Dominic Edward “Nick” Fazzina, was young at heart, despite his 88 years.
He lived a life full of love, song, and laughter, and he never stopped dreaming about the next great adventure.
When he died Aug. 1 from COVID-19 at Blake Medical Center, a recording of the velvet voice of his favorite singer, Frank Sinatra, was playing at his bedside.
The song? “My Way.”
“He adored Frank Sinatra and wanted to have ‘My Way’ played at his funeral,” said his wife of 44 years, Betsey Fazzina.
Although Mr. Fazzina worked for many years in the restaurant business, it seems that maybe he could have been an entertainer, given his enjoyment of doing his own comedy routines for friends and family.
Described as a true extrovert, he loved and valued his family and friends, and enjoyed music, dancing, traveling, history, reading and movies.
“This was the second marriage for both of us. It was 44 years in June. He had five children, and I had one. We have 14 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. One of them lives in St. Petersburg and was the light of his life,” Betsey said.
Asked for the secret of long marriage, she replied, laughter.
“We both have a really good sense of humor. Even when we got angry, one of us would come back with something funny. It was our sense of humor,” she said.
Mr. Fazzina made an album of his life — his travels and adventures — that he shared with his grandchildren. He also digitized his slides and home movies, complete with narration, which the grandchildren enjoyed seeing, Betsey said.
He was born Aug. 4, 1931, in New Britain, Conn., to immigrant parents, Sebastiano and Vincenza Fazzina, who hailed from the outskirts of Syracuse, Sicily. Nick graduated from Groton High School in Groton, Conn. After high school, he joined the U. S. Navy and served as a corpsman (medic) during the Korean War era aboard a transport ship. In high school, and in the Navy, he played saxophone in local bands.
“We did a lot of traveling. The best trip was to Italy. He grew up speaking Italian and he never lost it. He was able to pick up where he left off and reconnect with family,” Betsey said. “On his bucket list was a cruise to Alaska, but then the pandemic came along.”
Mr. Fazzina was predeceased by his parents, a brother, Carmelo, his sisters, Lucy and Mary, a granddaughter, Justine, and nieces Linda and Dana.
In addition to his wife, Betsey, he is survived by his children, Stephanie Erb, Valerie McElligott, Jackie Harrison, Doug Fazzina, and Beth Weber, all of Guilford, Conn.; his stepson, Matt Scheeler of Rocky Mount, N.C.; his grandchildren, Kerry, Ryan, Taryn, David, Andrew, Rachel, Katherine, Ben, Annalise, Megan, Gage, Landen, Bryant and Capri, and his great-grandchildren, Lilly, Schyuler, and Charlie.
A military funeral will be held for Mr. Fazzina in Connecticut at a time and place to be announced when it is safe to do so. In lieu of flowers, the family recommends donations to Tidewell Hospice, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital or a charity of your choice. Arrangements are under the care of Shannon Funeral Homes.
This story was originally published August 19, 2020 at 10:58 AM.
