John M. Carestia

John M. “Bosco” Carestia, 72, died Friday surrounded by his family in Baystate Medical Center. John was born in Springfield the son of the late Gino and Natalie (Siciliano) Carestia. He grew up in Springfield, was a 1960 graduate of West Springfield High School and lived on Cape Cod and in South Hadley before moving to Westfield last summer. He owned and operated Pipe n Book in West Springfield for many years and later owned various restaurants and bars in the Springfield area, most recently the Scoreboard Bar and Grill and Hickory Ridge Golf Club. John loved his family, was proud of his Italian Heritage, and was an avid Yankees fan. He was a member of the Dante Club and still played cards with his high school friends once a week. John leaves his wife Linda (Savioli) Carestia; children Gina Burrage and her husband Francis, Heather Sullivan, Michael Carestia and his wife Manny, Amy Wilson and her husband Marc Klaiman and Anthony Carestia and his wife Nell Coogan. He also leaves a sister Jeanne Breda and her husband Joe; a brother Vincent Carestia and his wife Karen and eleven grandchildren Cam, Nick, Josh, Jamie, Anthony, Andrew, Sophia, Wil, Gianna, Elizabelle, and Rory. The family would like to thank Dr. Ali and his staff at the D’Amour Center, and Baystate Medical Center’s 3rd Floor Oncology Unit and 1st Floor Inter-Care Unit for their compassionate care provided. The funeral will be held at the West Springfield Curran-Jones Funeral Home Wednesday at 9:00am with Liturgy in Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church at 10:00am followed by burial in Springfield Street Cemetery in Feeding Hills. Visiting hours will be held Tuesday from 4:00 – 7:00pm. For more details please visit curranjones.com. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105.