LEEDS — Marie and Richard Aquadro both left a mark in the Valley.
Whether it was through volunteering efforts at the church, the YMCA, at the polls at election time or donating to several area charities like the Sidney F. Smith Toy Fund, the late couple had a history of giving back to the community.
Those efforts didn’t go unnoticed, according to the couple’s granddaughter, Kristen Kouri Howard. Even after Richard’s passing in December 2019 and Marie’s in November 2020, Howard said her grandparents legacy continued to live on as several people made a donation to the toy fund in their memory.
In an effort to carry on that legacy, the couple’s 13 grandchildren have collectively donated $1,000 to the toy fund this year.
“They were part of that community and there’s so much left through their legacy and we want to continue to carry that forward — especially this year, there’s always a need, but we’re particularly blessed. We want to share our good fortune with those who need the assistance,” said Howard.
Richard “Dick” Aquadro graduated from Northampton High School in 1944 and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II until 1945.
After the service, he went on to graduate from MIT with a degree in civil engineering.
Marie Aquadro also grew up in Northampton, graduating from the high school in 1944, followed by the Northampton School for Girls in 1945, and then went on to Elms College to graduate in 1949 with a bachelor’s degree in science.
Following graduation, she worked as a phlebotomist at the New England Baptist Hospital in Boston.
The couple wed in 1951 and moved back to Northampton in 1954. Richard joined his father in the family construction business, Aquadro & Cerruti, and Marie became a stay-at-home mother to their five children.
Some of the lasting impact Richard and the family business has left behind can be seen in some of the well-known landmarks in the area, including Cooley Dickinson Hospital, JFK Middle School, Amherst College, Hampshire College and Smith College.
But the largest impact the couple had was the love that they shared for each other and their large family, according to Howard.
The family remained close as they continued to add more and more members, taking large family vacations to Cape Cod, Austria to ski and the Caribbean, and hosting large holiday parties that rotated between Northampton and metropolitan homes in Boston. Through each significant moment in time — weddings, graduations and baptisms — Howard said Grandma Ree and Grandpa Dick never missed any occasion.
In reflecting on her grandparents, Howard and the fellow grandchildren — Kevin Kouri, Daniel Gleason, Bryan Gleason, Aileen Gleason Samolewicz, Christine Sapienza DaPari, Timothy Sapienza, Courtney Aquadro Goldsmith, Andrew Egan, Anthony Aquadro, Ania Egan, John Egan and Natalie Aquadro — were talking and decided they wanted to do something to help others as a group.
“Our grandparents taught us to take care of people and to always do our best, and that’s something that’s carried forward and he’s instilled in his children, grandchildren and even the eight great-grandchildren,” said Howard. “They clearly left a mark on their family, and we wanted to do something to help others and decided on donating to the toy fund, which is something they did in our names for as long as I can remember.”
Named after a former business manager at the Gazette, the Toy Fund began in 1933 to help families in need during the Depression. Today, the fund distributes vouchers worth $50 to families for each child from age 1 to 14. Eligible families must live in any Hampshire County community except Ware, or in the southern Franklin County towns of Deerfield, Sunderland, Whately, Shutesbury and Leverett, and in Holyoke in Hampden County.
The tradition of donating is something that the family has continued since their grandparents’ passing.
“They were the most generous people who paid it forward as best as possible,” said Howard. “And we just wanted to carry that forward.”
The following stores are participating this year: A2Z Science and Learning Store, 57 King St., Northampton; Blue Marble/Little Blue, 150 Main St., Level 1, Northampton; Deals & Steals, 1 Pearl St., Northampton; High Five Books, 141 N. Main St., Florence; The Toy Box, 201 N. Pleasant St., Amherst; Once Upon A Child,1458 Riverdale St., West Springfield; Plato’s Closet, 1472 Riverdale St., West Springfield; Sam’s Outdoor Outfitters, 227 Russell St., Hadley; Odyssey Bookshop, 9 College St., Village Commons, South Hadley; The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, 125 W. Bay Road, Amherst; World Eye Bookshop, 134 Main St., Greenfield; Holyoke Sporting Goods Co., and 1584 Dwight St. No. 1, Holyoke.
Emily Thurlow can be reached at ethurlow@gazettenet.com.
