Robert William Caggiano

CAGGIANO, Robert William. Of Dorchester, MA, closed out his tab shortly after last call on August 28th, 2022. He was a feisty 77 years old. He was surrounded by family.

Survived by his loving wife of 54 years, his dear heart, Irene, his two kids, eldest Michael, who helped his Dad out in so many ways, from chauffeuring him in style to/from his cancer treatments, taking him around to all the shops, and helping him understand all the confusing medical jargon that was thrown his way over the past few years; and his youngest Dana, his comedic foil, who at this age is just happy to be described as the youngest.

He loved and sorely missed his surviving sibling, his baby sister Barbara Bliley of New York. He was preceded in death earlier this year by his older brother Jim, also of New York.

Grandpa Bubba loved and was loved by his 5 grandkids, Jeannie, Anthony, Meghan, Caitlyn and Madelin and his 1 great-grandchild, Manny.

If you knew him, he was Bob or RWX. A devoted friend to those who dared to get close. He was an artist who sketched and painted museum quality alphabet flash cards for his kids. A self-taught craftsman who after a fire at his local parish (St. Kevin's), helped rebuild the altar and was pseudo-canonized by the parish priests for it. His trade was commercial demolition and salvage, which meant abandoned file cabinets as dressers, wall sized whiteboards for the kids to doodle and pretend to do homework, and rolling office chairs at the kitchen table. Bob made use of things people no longer wanted, like the police horse's manure that he scooped up off of Boston Common to use in his small garden - much to the chagrin of his kids who had to carry the bag of fresh steaming horse puckey on the T (train and bus!). Bob loved history, nature and cooking shows and was a proper cheffie in his own right. An avid albeit unsolicited food critic, Bob was often found seated at Irene's table making pronounced judgments about seasoning levels or shouting out his perennial holiday favorite - "why so much potato?".

Bob loved the sea.  A native of Glen Cove, New York, his high school guidance counselor's advice on college was "Bob, manual labor, Bob" - which he took as a sign and promptly quit school and hitchhiked to Florida to join the Navy. Underaged and unskilled at forgery, young Bob was promptly sent back North where he campaigned for months and finally obtained his Mom's legit signature to pursue his maritime dream. For the man who loved ships - he was constantly stationed on land: Newfoundland, Key West, and San Salvador. He was at least always salt water adjacent - where Bob was most at home, swimming way beyond the lifeguard's whistle, fishing with his son, digging for clams or just staring out at the waves as the tide rolled in. Bob was fiercely independent which is probably why he loved stray cats. He is survived by a hand full of frisky furballs that miss him greatly.

Family and friends will honor and remember Bob’s life by gathering for a Memorial Visitation in the Murphy Funeral Home, 1020 Dorchester Ave., DORCHESTER, on Saturday, September 10, 2022 at 11:00 A.M. Followed by a Funeral Service  12 Noon.

Bob's final journey home will be private.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Bob’s memory may be made to any of the VA Medical Center programs.