Frank DiPietro

Francis J. DiPietro celebrated his last ‘happy hour’ on Friday, March 13, 2020, just shy of his 66th birthday.  Frank D (as he was known on the streets) was a true family man who loved grilling meats of all kinds, boating on Newfound Lake, and home improvement on any property he set foot on.

Being from the cultural epicenter of Reading, MA, it’s no surprise his early exposure to the arts led to his love of country music, in particular Zac Brown Band.  He balanced this with a passion for New England sports and recreation: the Bruins, the Patriots, and all of his kids’ sports and academic teams.

Frank D was an alumnus of Reading Memorial High School, Boston University and Lesley University.  He navigated through a successful and storied career path involving information technology, software, consulting, and fish.  Imagine providing your family all the Gorton’s fish sticks they wanted – he did that! He built his first home in Middleton, MA with his father-in-law, then moved his family across town to a bigger home more suitable for entertaining (but less suitable for sledding down the stairs).

He enjoyed collecting hats, antique license plates and abandoned pieces of wood, and never passed up a great deal.  He was always proud to showcase a newly found “diamond in the rough” acquired from a local pawn shop, yard sale, or the Middleton transfer station’s swap shed. 

But Frank D didn’t just set his sights on the streets and landfills of Middleton.  Most of all, he and his wife Debbie enjoyed spending much of their free time with family and friends entertaining at Camp Cocktail on Newfound Lake.

Though Frank D left the festivities earlier than expected, he recently celebrated his 40th wedding anniversary with Debbie and was settling into retirement.

He leaves behind a loving family of party animals who hope to keep things going way past last call – his wife and sidekick, Deb D; his party planning proteges, sons Doug and Greg, daughter Corinne and daughter-in-law Melissa; his future party animals, granddaughters Vivian and Cecilia; party planner emerita, his mother Marie; and brothers Larry and Joe and their families.  He also leaves behind countless other family members and friends, as well as the family mascot, Bucky.

Many of those who knew him, knew that if you were at Frank D’s place, he would always have a happy hour drink ready for you.  So, the next time you have a martini, think of Frank. He’s probably having one right now too.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Frank’s memory to the Newfound Lake Region Association or the American Heart Association. Visit https://newfoundlake.org/ and http://www.heart.org, respectively.

Services will be open to the public, and you had better be there.  However given the current health crisis, arrangements are on hold and will be announced at a time when it is safe for all to attend.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Frank DiPietro, please visit our floral store.