Charming, fearless, loving, loyal, driven, conflicted
Jack was funny, smart, handsome, loving and affectionate. From a young age, his peers, teachers, and his parents’ friends appreciate his sophisticated sense of humor and charisma. A great athlete, Jack’s childhood was spent playing team sports—basketball and football, but especially soccer. He was a great team player, a natural leader, and made lifelong friendships with his teammates.
In early adolescence, Jack entered his “daredevil phase.” He loved doing crazy stunts on his skateboard, like jumping over five friends laying down in the driveway. He spent hours practicing his kick-flips and flying off the ramp in the driveway.
Jack was close to his parents, Cathy, and Rich and his older sister, Madeline. Though they were four years apart, Madeline let him tag along with her friends, who enjoyed his humor. The two exchanged lines from The Office, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and every holiday season, watched Eight Crazy Nights together.
Nickerson State Park on Cape Cod was the site for the annual summer camping trip. The family had fun biking, swimming, kayaking, and making campfires every night. They also played charades and made s’mores. When Madeline was studying abroad, 16-year-old Jack and his parents traveled to London to visit. He loved the adventure of exploring a new country, watching a “football” match and touring historical sites. At 21, he took a solo trip to visit Madeline in San Diego, where he explored the west coast and enjoyed having time off from work.
Just after high school, Jack found his calling in sales, a natural fit for his charismatic personality. His ambition and intellect, combined with his patience, easy-going nature, (and bi-weekly haircuts) drew customers to him, accelerated promotions, and earned him big commission checks! Jack loved fast cars, first purchasing a Lexus, and more recently a Porsche, which he kept impeccably maintained.
“Jack embraced fatherhood at age 24, and was fiercely loving and protective of his son,” Cathy stated. Jack and Weston, now four, went to the beach, played outside, and took yearly trips with Weston’s mother, Mishaun, to Disney World. Weston’s parents were together on and off, and both devoted to successfully co-parenting him. At 25, Jack purchased a home on the Cape, which he meticulously maintained with the help of his father. They did a lot of projects together, including taking toilets apart to find stuck toys! Jack was committed to providing a stable home for Weston, a “mini-Jack.”
Drug use and alcohol dulled Jack’s charisma. He became unpredictable and pretended he wasn’t struggling with substance use disorder (SUD). In his last two years, Jack had three car accidents, a job firing, and a severely broken leg because of a fall while impaired. His one coping mechanism was using drugs and alcohol; he didn’t seek therapy. His parents panicked when the phone rang or someone came to the door. Just prior to his death, Jack was in an induced coma, intubated, and transferred by med flight to Boston. Ten weeks later, he died from an accidental overdose of fentanyl, benzos and alcohol.
“Despite Jack presenting as stable, he was very conflicted,” Cathy stated. Everyone in Jack’s life now has more compassion for people with SUD. They all miss Jack’s humor, laugh, love, and his smirk. They especially miss not being able to see him develop his relationship with Weston, whom he loved so deeply.
Jack’s mother, Catherine Pizzuto, provided the information for this narrative. July 16, 1995-December 12, 2022-Age 27
Portrait Artist: Elizabeth Jones
Narrative Writer: Barbara Francois
