Greg Grappone

Greg Grappone, 35, died peacefully May 1 in Seattle following complications from graft-versus-host disease following a stem cell transplant for cancer. He was surrounded by his adoring family and took his last breath with his beautiful daughter by his side.

Greg and his twin sister, Allison Grappone, were born in Concord in 1979 to Robert and Beverly Grappone of Bow.

Greg was in the first graduating class of Bow High School in 1998 and earned his BA degree in Great Books at St. Anselm College in Goffstown. He married Amy Augustine in 2011. Their daughter Briar was born in 2012 in Concord.

Greg called himself a wannabe futurist and was excited to see how science and technology would get humankind out of its current predicaments. His moral compass and wisdom were beyond his years from an early age; he always did the right thing and never spoke before thinking deeply about how it would affect people.

He cared deeply about cultural and social issues, politics and the environment. He constantly scouted for new music, movies, books and television. He was kind, humble and just plain cool. Like his mom, he loved nothing more than entertaining and cooking for friends and family. He worked for years to perfect his pizza dough recipe. Like his dad, he enjoyed philosophical discussions. This year they emailed each other daily with reflections on Tolstoy's A Calendar of Wisdom.

He endured heroically through a series of illnesses throughout his life and resisted being defined by them. The birth of his daughter coincided with unrelenting health challenges, but he was determined to get better for Briar. Despite setbacks, Greg remained optimistic about his health and looked forward to nothing more than seeing Briar grow up.

His endurance and patience never ceased to amaze those around him, especially his medical teams at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Cancer, the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, who became like family to him.

Greg was a fourth generation member of the Grappone family of Concord. Most recently, he served as the chief information officer at Grappone Automotive Group, before moving to Seattle last year.

Greg was a graduate of Leadership New Hampshire, Class of 2011. He served on the boards of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Concord and Five Rivers Conservation Trust.

He is survived by his wife, Amy Augustine Grappone, and 2-year-old daughter, Briar Grappone; his parents, Robert and Beverly Grappone; his sister Gretchen Grappone, sister Gina Grappone and husband, Derek Wang, Amanda Osmer and husband, Tom Osmer, Allison Grappone and husband, Christophe Matson; nieces Mary and Abigail Osmer and nephew Henry Osmer.

A memorial celebration of Greg's life will be held Sunday, May 10, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Concord, 55 Bradley St.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the following causes that were meaningful to Greg:

Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Concord, 55 Bradley St., Concord 03301.

Greg Grappone Children's Health Fund at Concord Hospital, 250 Pleasant St., Concord 03301.

Ben Towne Foundation, 4616 25th Ave NE, No. 717, Seattle, Wash. 98105.

Stupid Cancer, 40 Worth St., No. 808, New York, N.Y. 10013.