Robert V. DiLisio (Bob), a resident of South Hadley, Massachusetts, passed away on Wednesday, September 8, 2021, at Mass General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts surrounded by his loving family. He was born on January 18, 1958, to the late Nicolas DiLisio and Marcella (Gosselin) DiLisio. He attended Chicopee High School and received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Middlebury College in 1980 where he was also a member of the Varsity Men’s Ice Hockey Team. After graduating from Middlebury, Bob returned to Western Massachusetts and found a temporary job as a bartender at Woodbridge’s Restaurant in South Hadley where he met and quickly became smitten with his future wife Kelli. Although he displayed skill as a bartender (which proved to serve him well throughout his life mixing Bloody Mary’s at football tailgates and cocktails at family gatherings) he decided to follow Kelli in pursuit of a career in Law and received his Juris Doctorate degree from Western New England College in 1987. After Law School, Bob joined the law offices of Murphy and McCoubrey in Chicopee. In 1992 Bob left private practice and embarked on what would become a nearly 30-year career in insurance claims and litigation, working for Monarch Life Insurance Company, Connecticut Mutual Life Insurance Company, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company and most recently, Sun Life Financial. Outside of work, Bob’s passions included fishing trips with his family and friends, all manner of DIY projects and home improvements, campfires at night, epic tailgating parties with the Middlebury and Saint Lawrence crews, and his two dogs Scout and Rocco. Bob will be missed dearly by his wife of 33 years Kelli Ryan DiLisio and his two sons Nicolas (Ned) and his fiancée Emily Brown and Luke. He is also survived by his sister Elaine DiLisio of Sandwich, Massachusetts, brother David DiLisio and his wife Francine of Southampton, Massachusetts, and brother Michael DiLisio and his wife Sylvia of Chicopee. He leaves behind his in-laws; Priscilla Ryan, Katie Fitzgerald and her husband Joseph, Mary Dowd and her husband Matthew, all of South Hadley, Matthew Ryan and his wife Laura of Vernon, Connecticut, and Edward Ryan and his wife Garbiña of Dallas, Texas. Bob cherished his relationships with his nieces and nephews, Christina and Phillip DiLisio; Madeline and Thomas Dowd; Patrick and Maeve Fitzgerald; Lily, John, and Matthew Ryan; and Edward Ryan IV. To all the friends and colleagues who Bob met over the years, whether they were at work, on a lacrosse field or at a hockey rink, at a tailgate or doing what he loved the most, fishing, please know that Bob loved you all. The funeral Mass will be Tuesday, September 14 at noon at St. Theresa’s Church in South Hadley. Calling hours at the O’Brien Family Funeral Home, 33 Lamb Street, South Hadley, will be Monday, September 13 from 4:00 to 7:00pm. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in Bob’s memory to Middlebury College, c/o Brenda Currier, Director of Gift Administration, 700 Exchange Street, Middlebury, Vermont 05753 or the Garrett M. Gagne ’15 Memorial Scholarship Fund, Saint Lawrence University, 23 Romoda Drive, Canton, New York 13617.
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