Joe Grazado
In Memoriam
Joe Grazado, a long-standing club member and Alfa enthusiast, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly of heart failure in March. The news brought sadness to many of us who knew Joe from all over the Boston and New England area. First, no words can express the sympathies that many of us have for his wonderful wife, Nancy, and two sons, Jason and Aaron. I had dinner with the Grazados just about a month before his passing and he was his usual vibrant, fun-loving, enthusiastic self. You could tell how much he loved his family, tennis, architecture (his trade), and his Alfas. I could write a volume on his Alfa indulgences, but I’ll be brief. Joe and Nancy brought the 2600 coupe back from Italy many years ago. After storage, it was lovingly restored at Motor Inc., Paul Burns’s restoration shop in Marblehead. I can tell you that nothing was glossed over, because I worked weekends on the car myself at Motor Inc., putting it back together for over a year after one of Paul’s immaculate paint jobs. When I started, it had absolutely no interior, dash, trim, headliner (nothing), and about two years later it was ready to roll and won its class in the National Alfa Club concours. Since then, it has won numerous trophies. The love of the 2600 drove him to buy a used spider for Nancy, then the rare blue GTC (convertible), as well as the Milano Platinum and Verde. Some were sold (Angela and I bought the Milano and later Joe bought it back from us) and others were never to have that fate, like the GTC and 2600. In fact, at the wake and funeral, Alfa memorabilia were prevalently displayed as Nancy realized how much they were part of Joe’s love of life, things Italian, and the forms that architect-minded people aspire to create. Few members, in my experience, have successfully integrated their appreciation of Alfas, as Joe did, into their personal work and family lives. He will truly be missed by all who knew him. For those of you who did not, realize that one of our most passionate members has left us.
Sincerely, Tom Ducibella