Evandro "Van" DiCorpo – Waterbury Business Magnate, Loving Husband, Father and Grandfather

Evandro "Van" DiCorpo, 89, died on Thursday at Regional Hospice and Pallative Care Center in Danbury after a brief battle with lung and liver cancer.

Mr. DiCorpo was born March 30, 1929 in the town of Terranera, Italy in the Province of Abruzzo.  He was the son of the late Eugenio and Elisetta (Petricone) DiCorpo.  His wife, Felicia (DeCicco) DiCorpo, passed away 21 years ago, almost to the day.

Van was the embodiment of the American dream.  When he was 18, and with little more than a basic elementary education, he left his hometown and traveled to Argentina with a group of friends.  He became a carpenter and built homes while living in Buenos Aires. He then moved to Montevideo, Uruguay to continue to perfect his trade.  He also was one of the first "ski bums", spending time in Chile on ski trips and serving as a ski instructor.  After enjoying time in South America, he set his sites on the United States.  He worked with a local business leader in Waterbury to secure passage and employment.  This turned out to be a double blessing; not only was he able to come to the United States, but the business leader that he worked, Peter DeCicco, with would eventually become is father-in-law.

Early on in his American experience, he worked a number of jobs while learning to speak English.  Several years after, in 1969, he met Frank and Paul Caiazzo, two brothers that had founded Frankies Hot Dogs in Waterbury. He became a partner in Frankies, and with the Caiazzos and with Ceasar Calderone, he began what would chart the course of his career. He helped the partnership grow the business from a local Waterbury business into an empire with 18 locations located from Massachusetts to Florida.  He was never afraid of hard work, often working 10-12 hours a day, seven days a week to further his dream of building his business.  He retired from Frankies in 1996 at the age of 67.

He was a long-time resident of Woodbury; he moved his family to a house that he built on Hurds Hill Road in the late 60s.  He stayed there until 1998; after the passing of his wife, he moved to Heritage Village in Southbury where he spent 18 years.  He enjoyed the last two years of his life at the Hearth in Southbury.

He leaves a son and daughter-in-law, Peter and Lara DiCorpo of Bedford, NY.  He also leaves his two grandsons, Nicholas and Alex, who were the light of his life.  In addition, he leaves many cousins, nephews, nieces and friends who look up to him as a father figure.

Arrangements: Calling Hours – 4-7pm Friday (4/20) at Munson Lovetere Funeral Home (2 School Street, Woodbury). Memorial Mass 10:30am Saturday (4/21) at St. Teresa's Church (Main Street South, Woodbury).

Donations: In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Regional Hospice and Palliative Care Center for Comfort Care & Healing (30 Millstone Road, Danbury, CT 06810). Arrangements by Munson Lovetere Funeral Home.