Paul Joseph Capano
Paul Joseph Capano, 63 went home to be with the Lord on January 20, 2021 in League City, Texas surrounded by his loving family. He was born October 31, 1957 in Boston, Massachusett. He and his adoring sister Anne were adopted by first generation, loving devout Catholic Italian parents Vincent and Ida Capano.
Paul was passionate about his Italian heritage. He grew up in a large Italian family with 14 Aunts, Uncles and 31 Cousins. There was always large family gatherings with lots of love, good times and delicious Italian food.
He grew up in the church. Paul served as an alter boy at St. Anthony Parish in Revere, MA. His parents worked very hard, first and second jobs to send him to Malden Catholic High School and The College of the Holy Cross. He then moved to Texas and obtained his PHD in Inorganic chemistry at the University of Texas in Austin, where he met his wife Thresia. They were married in 1983 for 37 wonderful years.
Paul was always a very hard worker through graduate school and every job he had. He was fortunate to develop many wonderful relationships throughout his career. He was well loved, respected and a mentor to many.
He began his professional career in 1992 with the Dupont Company in Wilmington, Delaware as a Senior Research and Development Chemist. He worked for Dupont 25 years.
Paul very much appreciated education and especially Catholic education.
His 20 year old twins Nicholas and Julianna attended Mt. Aviat Academy, a private Catholic school under the direction of the Oblate Sisters of St. Francis de Sales.
During that time, he served on the Maryland Catholic Conference Education and Family Council, also Diocesan Board of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Wilmington, DE.
Upon retiring from Dupont as a Global Technical Marketing Consultant, he and his family returned to Texas in 2017 where he worked for Kuraray America for 4 years as a Senior Technical Marketing Consultant.
Paul traveled globally for many years with his career, he also enjoyed travel with his family. The highlight being traveling to Italy with his wife, 80 year old mother, sister, brother in law and niece Jillian. He was able to take part in her return to her home country after leaving her family behind at age 14 to come to America. He also enjoyed many wonderful trips with his wife, son and daughter and made many special memories.
Paul was preceded in death by his parents, Vincent and Ida Capano.
He is survived by his loving wife of 37 years Thresia, his 20 year old twins, Nicholas and Julianna, sister Anne Carroll and husband Bobby, 8 nieces and nephews and many other loving family and friends.
Paul was loved by all who knew him and will be greatly missed. Praise God he is at peace in the arms of his Savior and his loving family in heaven.
A visitation will be held Friday January 29, 2021 from 6-8pm at Crowder Funeral Home in League City. Friends will be received at 6pm central time with prayer service at 7:15pm. The streaming link is https://youtu.be/Tk8Nuhlnk8A
A Service to celebrate his life will be held Saturday, January 30, 2021, 10am central time at St. Mary Exception Catholic Church, 1612 East Walker, League City 77573.
The streaming link for the 10am funeral service will be updated on this page by 9;45am on Saturday, January 30, 2021 prior to the service.
For those unable to attend in person, a video of the service will be available.
In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to an educational college fund for Paul’s children, Nicholas and Julianna.
The Bevilacqua family will miss their cousin Paul. We never said the word adoption. He was our blood thru LOVE. He was his mother first adopted. Auntie Ida loved him sooo much. His father Jimmy loved him too. We always waited for them to come to our home on the Cape every Sunday. So much childhood memories. We loved played and shared life together. Forever in my heart Dear Paul
Paul was a very kind, brilliant, and great friend. The entire “28 Kingman Ave” stoop group miss him and wish him God Speed. He created memories for all who knew him. His wonderful piano talents and playing Elton John songs from memory is priceless. Our thoughts go out to Paul’s family, including Bobby Carroll and his family. May his memories be a blessing. Doreen Zankowski
Paul was a great friend who I haven’t seen in over 40 years when we hung out on Kingman Ave. He was there for me when I lost my dad in 75 when we were just teenagers. He did try to teach me to play the piano, but I had no patients for that, but he keep trying anyway.
My deepest condolences go out to his family at this time, may God Speed Paul to his final resting place in heaven.
Chipper DeMarco
My deepest condolences. I got to know Paul at Kuraray during his time here in TX. He was always such a positive and uplifting person to be around. I enjoyed many discussions with him and had the opportunity to attend conferences with him. My prayers are with him and his family.
Kevin A. Laux
We are so sorry for your loss. This is tragic and we are all thinking of you . We are sending you all out love and prayers.
I will miss Paul. We worked together at DuPont for many years in the paper technology group. Paul was always willing to work with anyone to solve a customers problem. He always believed the “customer first” approach to issues. My prayers are with the family during this time of grief. Our Lord will be your comfort during these tough times. Hold onto the memories of Paul.
My deepest sympathies to Paul’s family. I was lucky enough to know Paul back in the day when Kingman Ave was the place to be. I have great memories of that time and especially of Paul. To say he was the sweetest, kindest person of the group is an understatement. We all knew he was special and I keep those memories close to my heart. May your family be comforted at this time knowing memories of him are a blessing to many.
I met Paul when he came to work at Kuraray and only saw him occasionally, but in that short time he made a huge impression on me. I am so saddened by his loss. He was a wonderful man with a tremendously beautiful spirit.
I hope that the grief shared by his family and friends will be overshadowed by the great memories he helped create.
Dear Capano family,
You do not know me, but I met Paul through work. I want to express my sincere sadness with learning of Paul’s passing. Paul was a wonderful person, always ready willing and able to offer assistance and support, and he was a good friend.
May the Lord grant you and your entire family peace during this most difficult time.
Kindest regards,
David Lyon
On behalf of many of Paul’s friends at The Chemours Company, it is with great sadness to hear of his passing. Paul was a great co-worker, friend and traveling partner to several of us. He took great pride in the customer relationships and nurtured them well through the years. We pray for strength and comfort to his family and his peaceful rest.
Honesty. Morality. Integrity.
These are the words that always come to mind when I think of Paul Capano.
I am a better man because of our friendship and the example he set for me as kids.
I love you, Paul.
And thanks.
Paul was a great colleague at DuPont on the Paper Team. I will always remember his calm but innovative and tireless work to meet the needs of two of the most demanding and passionate paperboard coating Technical Directors at mills in AL GA and LA. Somehow he balanced their customer requirements and firewalled their technologyies separately. He was a great example to all he touched with his caring beyond the workplace. Our prayers for Paul and his family.
It’s rare in a career to cross paths with someone who develops into a friend, but that’s what happened when Paul and I worked together. He was our technical rep when he was with DuPont and he was always a solid resource for helping us solve problems and determine root cause. We stayed in contact after we had both moved on in our careers.
Paul had a special gift of listening and being genuinely interested in the people he connected with. I will always remember him.
I’m so sorry for your loss.
Our heartfelt sympathy to the entire family. What a beautiful family. We know Paul is in the arms of our Lord and at peace. Our prayer is for the family to find strength in the coming days.
Dear Capano Family:
I met Paul in the Kuraray Wilmington office before he transferred to Texas and we chatted a bit on his DuPont career and his move to Texas. Everyone that worked closely with Paul has expressed their shock and sadness to me and their ultimate respect for him. I streamed the viewing tonight and what a lovely family you have. I could feel your love for him and each other. May God Bless all of you as you grieve for Paul and may your happy memories of him help you through the coming months.
Julie Mendola
There are many things we can all learn from Paul, and I personally will try to live up to his example. He was brilliant, kind, patient, funny, and always willing to help anyone. Paul was the type of person that always put others first, and in conversations, always focused on their needs before his own. I had the pleasure to work closely with him at Kuraray for many years. He loved god, his family, Italy, music, and travel. He educated me in many ways as we toured the country having fun, eating fine Italian as often as well could, and doing our jobs. Paul really enjoyed the challenge and helping customers to develop new product and solve their problems. Our customers loved him, as did everyone whom Paul touched. He was a great friend, colleague, and mentor. He taught me many things, most importantly – how to treat others. He was a truly one of a kind, and he will be dearly missed. Rest in peace my friend!!
David Higginbotham
All were shocked after Paul’s news was announced at work. A sizable group of us got together on Friday from two Kuraray business units for an online social for a farewell toast to our friend and colleague. We reminisced our global road warrior stories, as well as Paul’s strategy for optimal seating when boarding South West Airlines. His enthusiastic style of presenting molecular interactions of wood fiber surfaces is something we all awe. 🙂 I will miss tapping his expertise on paper, plastic, customers, consumers and saving the world. Farewell my friend, You are missed.
So sorry that Paul’s family has to endure the loss of a person so devoted to them and, as a friend and colleague, the loss has hit me with such sadness. Yet, numerous memories of where he had that quick laugh/smile, took the initiative, made a great comment, lived in a kind and generous way that few do as he did, showed insightful scientific awareness or brought some fun to the moment also have come to me–one after another. Our friendship started during his graduate school days in Austin in the days of frugal apartments and cars with no heaters or working a/c, where he brought a bit of Revere to central Texas, where he pursued novel and interesting inorganic chemistry research leading to attaining his doctorate, met and married Thresia, set out later on to be a dad, and surely influenced numerous others of which I have been one blessed to know him. It was good today for me to “attend” the Mass this morning. Be at peace.
I’m so sorry for losing a good friend for me Paul was like my oldest brother, he was a special i was so happy to spend time whit Paul and enyoing his company i really going to miss you but i will keep you in my heart always
On behalf of the Richard J. Lagow research group at the University of Texas, we are saddened to hear the news of Paul’s passing. I had the pleasure of knowing Paul for the three years in which we overlapped in the Lagow lab. He is remembered as a very kind, creative and hardworking researcher. May God bless Paul and all of your family during this difficult time. I wish I had learned of his passing early enough for me to attend his funeral mass. Rest in peace my friend.
My deepest sympathies to Paul’s family. This has been shocking news. Paul was a close friend and valued colleague. I will miss him dearly. He was special, like a brother.
Paul is a unique human being that I had the happy fortune to get to know over a number of years. I worked with him for quite a few years when he was with DuPont and he’d usually make jokes about coming down to see me in LA (Lower Alabama) from up north, although he always seemed to like visiting in the winter rather than the warmer months. I had some unforgettable experiences with Paul and Thresia, although like many, I hate to admit that as time passes we seem to slowly lose contact. Thank you Paul for the advice and insights, both professional and personal, and your sharing of your own experiences as well as meeting and having some interaction with your wonderful family. I remember the pictures you sent out from Serapo beach, Gaeta. Paul – You, Thresia and the young folks (I can’t call them kids any more) are in our prayers.
I met Paul several years ago when he was with DuPont. Paul was always very generous with his time, and willing to help in any way possible. Since we had similar interests – and religious and political views – we always went to dinner when he was in town. Paul had a wealth of knowledge and our conversations would aimlessly go from one topic to another. During one of our conversations, we learned we had more in common than we thought. We both went to different schools in Texas, but we had the same degree and had major professors who studied under each other. After that evening, we spent so much time at dinner the restaurant staff would have to shoo us out when they closed. While I have never met Paul’s wife or his twins, I feel like I know them well, since he spent a lot of time fondly talking about them after we got to know each other on a deeper level. Paul always lite up when he was telling me stories about his family, and his heritage. Paul’s stories about his kids playing basketball were some of the best.
Paul was a unique, brilliant, loving, and caring individual, who touched a lot of people. I’ll miss Paul a lot and our long conversations over dinner. My deepest sympathies to Paul’s family during this time.
I was deeply shocked and heartbroken to hear of Paul’s passing. Paul was a kind and gentle soul and a wonderful friend. I have many fond memories of him from our college years at UT Austin. That was the time when he had recently met the love of his life Thresia. I remember how his heart was filled with love for Thresia and how his eyes sparkled every time he talked about her. We shared an apartment together for a while and I remember him teaching me how to cook his favorite spaghetti dish.
I send my deepest condolences to Thresia and family. I pray that God will grant you strength and patience during this difficult time. Paul’s memory will live forever in your hearts.
Rest In Peace my friend.
I am so sad to hear about Paul’s passing. Paul and I went to Holy Cross together and we roomed together our senior year at Holy Cross. He was part of the Steve Andre band, Lending his engineering talents and support to the band in many ways. While l I did not get to see much of Paul following college, he always kept in touch. He was a wonderful person, and I’m very sad to hear his passing. I wish his entire family the best during this difficult time, and wish each and every one of you God’s blessing.
Condolences to the family. News of Paul’s passing breaks my heart. Tremendous individual who I think the world of. Paul sat right in front of me for 4 years of high school and from day 1 we became very close friends. We were planning to be roommates at Holy Cross. That didn’t happen and I don’t know who was more disappointed, me or Paul.
Always a gentlemen and a true class act, Paul never sought attention and never looked for recognition but he was always successful in whatever he did from school to soccer to basketball.
Just the greatest guy.
I was shocked and saddened to hear just this weekend from a friend that Paul had passed. I’ve known him over years of his career from Dupont to his most recent work at Kuraray. Always the gentleman, his technical knowledge was impressive and he shared in a way that left people feeling good about their interactions with him. Always a class act.
He will be missed.
My sincere condolences to his family.
I just saw in Resurrection Bulletin Paul;
‘s obit. So young to die that I was shocked. Obit captured much of who he is. I recall his devotion to children’s education — not only his won children. My he rest in peace. Decades ago I travelled to visit a couple in League City. Peace,