Obituary of Ivan Otto Capella

Ivan Otto Capella, age 92, of Trumbull and Shelton, beloved husband of Frances Elena (DeLucia) Capella, passed away peacefully on Friday, May 16, 2025 in the comfort of his home with his loving family by his side. Born on September 25, 1932, in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba he was a son of the late Rosendo Capella y Oriol and Sara Waldina Portuondo y Maldonado. He graduated from Nichols College in Dudley, MA and Universidad De Oriente in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba. Ivan was a retired CPA and served in multiple leadership roles that spanned 35 years at Texaco, Inc in Cuba, NYC, Guatemala, Colombia and Harrison, NY before his retirement in 1992.

Ivan fled Cuba in 1960 after Castro nationalized and seized private property and businesses as part of his Socialist /Communist "reforms". He came to NYC and met the former Frances DeLucia, an Italian-American New Yorker while working at Texaco's headquarters in NYC. They quickly fell in love and married on June 24, 1961. Texaco promoted Ivan to a position in Guatemala in 1963 and their 2 daughters were born there Karen (1965) and Lynn (1967). In 1968, Ivan was promoted to Bogota, Colombia where their beloved son, Rob, would be born (1969). In 1980, due to the dangerous conditions in Colombia, Ivan decided to return to the USA for a better life for his family. They would move to Trumbull, CT where for the next 38 years he was happy tending to his garden and making sure the lawn was weed-free! In 2018, Frances and Ivan downsized to a condo in Aspetuck Village in Shelton, CT where he soon became the "mayor" greeting everyone as they walked by including the gardeners when they cut his grass (he was still making sure there were no weeds).

Ivan, also known as "Papi", was a devoted family man, co-worker and friend to many. Everyone that met him instantly fell in love with him and always had fond memories of their time with him. He was a friend to all, and it didn't matter if you were the president of the company, or the janitor, he treated everyone with respect as if they were part of his family. Speaking of family, Papi adored his 9 grandchildren and was very proud of all their successes in athletics, academics and their professional careers. What he would instill the most in them was to "be good people" and to "have God in your life". His faith was very important to him, and he always said that "Frances saved me" as she introduced him to the Catholic church. Ivan could always be counted on to pray for those dealing with difficulties. Even to the end, in his final moments, he was always thinking of others. That is his lasting legacy.

Ivan was a dedicated parishioner of St. Catherine of Siena Church and was a proud 4th Degree Knight with the Knights of Columbus Council 5806.

In addition to his beloved wife of 64 years, survivors include three loving children, Rob Capella and his wife Mia, Lynn Holmquist and her husband Peter and Karen Marchetti and her husband Gian Marco, nine cherished grandchildren, Sara, Jenna, Stephen, Emma, William, Ellen, Lorenzo, Giorgio and Victoria, as well as several nieces, nephews and many relatives in Puerto Rico, Miami and Spain.

In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by two sisters, Dora (Capella) Arrabal and Sara Li (Capella) Salazar and many aunts, uncles, cousins and additional loved ones.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Wednesday, May 21, 2025 at 10:00 am directly in St. Catherine of Siena Church, 200 Shelton Rd., Trumbull. Interment will follow in the Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Trumbull. Relatives and friends may greet the family on Tuesday, May 20th from 4-7pm in the Abriola Parkview Funeral Home, 419 White Plains Rd., Trumbull. To leave an online condolence, please visit www.abriola.com.