The Sons of Italy Lodge 2808-Columbia, SC, lost a true “figlio” of Italy on March 30, 2009. Nicola, who served as one of the first lodge trustees, suffered from an irreversible lung illness. He was 88 years old, the second oldest member of the lodge. He was proud to be a member of the Sons of Italy and excited that he was able to share this experience with several of his children.

Nicola and his parents Angelo and Olinda Clemente’ Pizzuti, and his four sisters and one brother, immigrated to America from Carpinone, Italy, during the 1920s and eventually settled in Detroit, Michigan. He graduated from Wilbur Wright High School and Lutheran College of Architecture. In 1942, he joined the US Army-Air Corps, serving in WW II in the Pacific. He was also stationed at the Army-Air Base in Florence, S.C., where he met Virginia “Ruth” Miller, a young business college student. Within six months, they were married and enjoyed 53 years together until her death in 1996. They were blessed with 11 children: Pam (d. 2008), Trisha, Tammy, Nicholas (Nick), Anthony, Angela, Jinny, Gregory, Alicia, Mary and Theresa.

After completion of military service, he settled his family first in Detroit, and eventually moved to Columbia in 1949, making this his permanent home. He enjoyed a 25-year career as a mechanical engineer with Allied Fibers and retired in 1986. Always ready to lend a helping hand to others, he shared his interests and talents through service to his church and community. A member of St. Peter’s Catholic Church for 50 years, he served as Lector and Eucharistic Minister, was a member of the Fifty-Plus Club, taught religious education and was a volunteer for the St. Peter’s School Grandparent Program, where he shared his stamp collection hobby. He also volunteered his time and talents to Home Works of America (HWA) projects. In April, 2009, Nicola was awarded posthumously the HWA service award, the first to be awarded by this national volunteer organization. Nicola was proud of his Italian heritage and loved huge family gatherings with music and dancing. He enjoyed playing his accordion professionally and for fun, while also demonstrating his skillful “fancy feet” on the dance floor.

In 1999, Nicola traveled to his birthplace, Carpinone, Italy, where the house in which he was born still stands. He spoke often of his home place and recalled, with warm emotion, his family’s meager beginnings and travels to America in search of a new and prosperous life.

For more on Nicola’s music career, see: Remembering our Local Italian Americans