Richard J. Casella, 87

MOULTONBOROUGH — Richard James Casella, 87, of Moultonborough, NH, died December 6, 2020 at his home with his wife and children by his side, after a long illness.

Born on April 21, 1933 and raised on the Casella farm in Waltham, MA, he was the son of Salvatore and Sarah (Alia) Casella, who immigrated from Sicily to America.

Richard built his first home in Waltham, MA, as well as a summer home on Lake Winnipesaukee. After selling, they resided in Sebastian Florida eventually returning to Moultonborough.

Richard owned and operating Casella Bros. Construction eventually moving that business to NH renaming it to Casella & Son Sitework Inc. where his eldest son continues to operate.

Served in the Army as a mechanic of army tanks in Korea. He was considered the little, short one but strong one able to squeeze into small spaces.

He was all about family helping in time of need, his heart always in the right place, a teacher of wanting to do the right thing by honesty even if it meant being vulnerable to the not-so-nice.

Although he wasn’t able to give much of himself while running a business providing for his family, he still managed to let you know how much he loved his family by how hard he worked to give us the life we had, spending summers on the lake boating, water skiing, swimming, fishing, snowmobiling, ice skating. We were truly blessed to make it our permanent home, to go to a better school and live where we most loved to be. He certainly made up the “time” in his retired years. It was family first for him in his heart, always.

A man of very few words, leading & teaching through example with dignity & respect. A special, decent, polite, reserved, genuine, old-fashioned man in the eyes of so many. Compassionate for all living things, resembling a gentle caring soul.

Always concerned for your well-being, a man of all good intentions doing what he needed to do to protect his family, safety being a high quality of his character. A man of integrity & honor. A deserving man of praise and acknowledgement for all his accomplishments.

He had so much pride and joy in his antique cars and any car he owned, always making sure they were immaculate on the inside & out, spending hours either restoring, cleaning or fixing all himself.

If he was not working on his cars or repairing his Mack trucks, he was out in the yard or fixing something in the house or painting or working in his office taking care of business.

As we all have our faults, his efforts surely surpassed his and we are so fortunate to have had this beloved kind-hearted, sweet, sincere, unselfish father, grandfather, brother, husband, friend in our lives to love and be loved by.

With the onset of the dementia diagnosis, a deeper image of his inner true self and personality came out to shine upon us even more, the funny & relaxed side, “the Italian” as he started quoting like never before, giving us so many laughs. He always had so much pride for his Sicilian Heritage, and loved Italian food. Then the moments of rest, relaxation, and peace as years of hard work resided. The expression of gratitude was there on the surface for all those who cared for him in his last days always saying thank you.

He is the youngest of nine children, all of them have gone before him, a man who adored his mother immensely and spoke so highly of. A man who honored and loved his wife of 57 years, always taking care of her to the best of his ability. We will forever be grateful for his presence in our lives for all our days to come until we meet again.

Richard is survived by his wife of 57 years, Martha P. (Stauff) Casella of Moultonborough; his children, Richard Casella Jr and his wife Maryjane (Sargent) of Moultonborough, Nancy Morton and husband Michael of Sandwich, Karen Casella and her fiancé Robert Strang of Moultonborough, Mark Casella and his wife Karen of Laconia; his grandchildren, Jaci Casella-Sullivan of San Diego, CA, Mark Dillon Casella of Laconia, Brayden Casella of Laconia, Madison Richardson, Cameron Richardson, Kayley Richardson of Moultonborough; his step-grandchildren, Michael Higgins his wife Sarah of Boscawen NH, Jack Higgins, Kassie’s Minks and husband Andrew of Parrish FL; great-stepgrandchild, Hannah Higgins; several nieces & nephews; and many lifelong friends.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated in the St. Charles Borromeo Church, 300 NH Route 25, Meredith, on Monday, December 14th at 11:00 am. The Msgr. Gerald R. Belanger, Pastor, will be the celebrant. Burial will be follow in Shannon Cemetery, Moultonborough. www.mayhewfuneraljhomes.com