Major General (Ret.) John H. Capalbo, 83, of Smithfield passed away on Friday August 20th in the Hulitar Hospice Intake Center in Providence. He was the husband of Shirley P. (Toledo) Capalbo. They had been married for 45 years.
Born in Westerly, a son of the late Joseph and Christina (Terranova) Capalbo. He had lived in Smithfield for 44 years.
He was a graduate of Westerly High School and the University of Rhode Island. In 1960, he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration. He also graduated from the United States Command and General Staff Colleges. His military career had began at URI in the ROTC program where he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant of Infantry and he retired from the US Army in 1994 after over 34 years of service.
General Capalbo’s US decorations and badges include; The Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, National Defense Service Medal with Star Device, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with 10 year Device, Army Service Ribbon, Army Reserve Components Overseas Training Ribbon, and Parachutist Badge.
His active duty assignments included Instructor in the Weapons Department, Infantry School and Administrative Officer, Small Arms Committee. Some of his Reserve Duty assignments included Executive Officer, 2nd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 76th Division; Operations Officer, 2nd Battalion, Executive Officer, 3rd Battalion, 76th Regiment, 4th Brigade; Commander, 76th Division Maneuver Training Command, and Commander, 76th Division Training.
Throughout his thirty-four year career, Major General Capalbo was known for his training innovation and high standards. Immediately following his three-year active duty assignment at Fort Benning, Georgia, he entered the active Army Reserve. For thirty-one years, Major General Capalbo served in the most demanding military assignments while developing an extremely successful civilian career as a Regional Special Investigation Manager for the Allstate Insurance Company and Regional Claims Executive for Fireman’s Fund Insurance Company.
Following his military retirement in 1994, Major General Capalbo remained active in numerous organizations that support soldiers, their families and veterans. He was a member of The Military Order of Foreign Wars and served as President of the Rhode Island Reserve Officer Association. He was actively involved in developing a rehabilitation program for Rhode Island Veterans experiencing Post Traumatic Stress Disabilities which involves using Button Hole Golf Course for physical and mental rehabilitation. He was an active member of the URI Army ROTC Alumni Association Chapter and was inducted into the URI ROTC Hall of Fame. He was also one of the original members of the Smithfield Veterans Memorial Committee.
Besides his wife, he leaves his son Jason Capalbo and his wife Donna of Smithfield and his grandchildren, Nicholas and Valerie Capalbo. He leaves his siblings, Mary Stellitano of Westerly, Elizabeth Gervasini of Bradford, Nancy Mottola of Warwick and Louis Capalbo of Chapel Hill, NC. He was the brother of the late Joseph Capalbo, Margaret Burdick and Susan Stefanski.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Saturday August 28th at 10am in St. Michael’s Church, 80 Farnum Pike, Smithfield. Entombment with Military Honors will be in Highland Park, Johnston. Visitation Friday 4-7pm in the Anderson-Winfield Funeral Home, Route 44 at Greenville Common, Greenville. In lieu of flowers donations in his memory may be made to St. Michael’s Church, 80 Farnum Pike, Smithfield, RI 02917 St. Michael's Church or HopeHealth Hulitar Center, 1080 South Main Street, Providence, RI 02904 HopeHealth