Post by Atticus Pizzaballa on Aug 13, 2023 14:49:44 GMT -5
CENTRAL NY NEWS
Updated: Aug. 13, 2023, 3:30 p.m.|Published: Aug. 13, 2023, 3:09 p.m.
Peter Capizzi enjoys a scallop dinner at Rudy's Lakeside Drive-in Oswego with family and friends, and ambulance and fire department personnel on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023. Capizzi's wife, Marilyn, is sitting in the front row, far right. (Menter Ambulance)
Syracuse, N.Y. -- A terminally ill Camillus man was asked if he had any last wishes and did not hesitate. Yes, he said, dinner at Rudy’s Lakeside Drive-in in Oswego.
Retired teacher Peter Capizzi was taken by ambulance Saturday to Rudy’s, where he enjoyed a scallop dinner and watched his five great-grandchildren skip rocks on Lake Ontario.
Peter Capizzi enjoys a view of Lake Ontario after having dinner at Rudy's Lakeside Drive-in in Oswego on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023. (Debbie Kuhlmann)
“My parents grew up in Oswego,” his daughter Beth said. “They used to date at Rudy’s. That was one of their favorite spots to go to.”
Capizzi, who suffers from dementia and can no longer walk, has been in hospice care since December. When a hospice chaplain asked him if he had any last wishes, he told him he would like to have dinner at his favorite restaurant, Rudy’s, his daughter said.
On Saturday, Menter Ambulance transported him free of charge from his daughter’s home in Camillus, where he has been living, to Rudy’s. Members of the volunteer Fairmount Fire Department and WAVES Ambulance helped to put him in the ambulance.
Members of the Oswego Town Fire Department assisted in moving him from the ambulance to a pavillion at Rudy’s and then closer to the water so he could watch his great-grandchildren skip rocks like he once did, his daughter said.
Altogether, about 20 family, friends and fire department and ambulance personnel attended the occasion.
Beth Capizzi said her father and mother, Marilyn, when growing up frequently ate at Rudy’s, a popular seafood restaurant that is open seasonally.
The couple moved to Bellport, Long Island, when Capizzi was offered a job teaching industrial arts and driver’s education at a high school there, his daughter said. Capizzi retired in 1989 after 32 years teaching and moved with his wife to Camillus in 1996 to be closer to family, she said.
Beth said her parents had not been to Rudy’s in about five years.
“It’s just such a sense of community, and we are so grateful,” she said. “We’re very blessed.”
www.syracuse.com/news/2023/08/dying-camillus-man-gets-last-wish-dinner-at-rudys-lakeside.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=syracuse_nf&fbclid=IwAR3HZmBbele0cDet_mQhVCu35jOcWz78HE1G3hhD-75n321yXFpRznC2DWg
What a beautiful story!
Dying Camillus man gets last wish: Dinner at Rudy’s Lakeside
Updated: Aug. 13, 2023, 3:30 p.m.|Published: Aug. 13, 2023, 3:09 p.m.
Peter Capizzi enjoys a scallop dinner at Rudy's Lakeside Drive-in Oswego with family and friends, and ambulance and fire department personnel on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023. Capizzi's wife, Marilyn, is sitting in the front row, far right. (Menter Ambulance)
Syracuse, N.Y. -- A terminally ill Camillus man was asked if he had any last wishes and did not hesitate. Yes, he said, dinner at Rudy’s Lakeside Drive-in in Oswego.
Retired teacher Peter Capizzi was taken by ambulance Saturday to Rudy’s, where he enjoyed a scallop dinner and watched his five great-grandchildren skip rocks on Lake Ontario.
Peter Capizzi enjoys a view of Lake Ontario after having dinner at Rudy's Lakeside Drive-in in Oswego on Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023. (Debbie Kuhlmann)
“My parents grew up in Oswego,” his daughter Beth said. “They used to date at Rudy’s. That was one of their favorite spots to go to.”
Capizzi, who suffers from dementia and can no longer walk, has been in hospice care since December. When a hospice chaplain asked him if he had any last wishes, he told him he would like to have dinner at his favorite restaurant, Rudy’s, his daughter said.
On Saturday, Menter Ambulance transported him free of charge from his daughter’s home in Camillus, where he has been living, to Rudy’s. Members of the volunteer Fairmount Fire Department and WAVES Ambulance helped to put him in the ambulance.
Members of the Oswego Town Fire Department assisted in moving him from the ambulance to a pavillion at Rudy’s and then closer to the water so he could watch his great-grandchildren skip rocks like he once did, his daughter said.
Altogether, about 20 family, friends and fire department and ambulance personnel attended the occasion.
Beth Capizzi said her father and mother, Marilyn, when growing up frequently ate at Rudy’s, a popular seafood restaurant that is open seasonally.
The couple moved to Bellport, Long Island, when Capizzi was offered a job teaching industrial arts and driver’s education at a high school there, his daughter said. Capizzi retired in 1989 after 32 years teaching and moved with his wife to Camillus in 1996 to be closer to family, she said.
Beth said her parents had not been to Rudy’s in about five years.
“It’s just such a sense of community, and we are so grateful,” she said. “We’re very blessed.”
www.syracuse.com/news/2023/08/dying-camillus-man-gets-last-wish-dinner-at-rudys-lakeside.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=syracuse_nf&fbclid=IwAR3HZmBbele0cDet_mQhVCu35jOcWz78HE1G3hhD-75n321yXFpRznC2DWg
What a beautiful story!