James Anthony Colapinto

James Anthony "Jamie" Colapinto, 52, of Windsor, beloved husband and best friend of Heather (Bernabucci) Colapinto, passed away after a long illness on Friday, January 30, 2026.

Jamie was born in New Britain, son of the late Anthony and Valerie (Stajos) Colapinto, graduated from Bloomfield High School, and spent his career as a general landscaper and plowed snow in the off-season. For over 20 years, Jamie served the community as a dedicated Volunteer Fireman with the Blue Hills Fire Department and the Bloomfield Fire Department.

James was a loving son, father, in-law, nephew, uncle, cousin, and dear friend. His proudest accomplishment was being a dad to his two boys, Anthony and Tyler. He will be remembered as a man who enjoyed the simple things in life and loved his family more than anything. James taught his sons the value of family, friends, discipline, respect, and how to appreciate a good football game. He was active in his son's lives, loved attending all their events, and supported their dreams. James was very involved with his boys' football endeavors, including the Windsor Giants, the 095, and the Windsor Warriors. He loved working at the concession stand as a cook and helping in any way he could. He especially enjoyed having long conversations about sports with Ant and passing on his mechanical knowledge to Ty. Some of his favorite times with the boys were spent going to professional sporting events as a family. Admittedly, James was a handful, and the "spiciest part of Heather's life," but he had a heart of gold, and to know him was to love him. He loved to take care of people. James also had a witty and sarcastic sense of humor and loved to make people laugh; if he teased you, you knew he loved you. James remained true to his personality and fought his battle with cancer with courage and strength, trying to keep his pain hidden from those he loved.

James was the family chef and also loved cooking for everyone on family vacations. He could make just about anything, and everyone loved his "famous" mac and cheese; and when he was active in the fire department, he enjoyed cooking for everyone at the firehouse. James was very independent and handy around the house, but his family will affectionately argue that he was famous for starting a lot of projects but not finishing them. Being a landscaper, and up until the point where he could no longer, he enjoyed working in his own yard, which was always beautifully manicured.

James leaves a legacy of wonderful memories that will live in the hearts of everyone who knew and loved him.

In addition to the love of his life, Heather, James leaves to celebrate his life, his sons, Anthony Richard Colapinto and Tyler James Colapinto, all of Windsor; beloved aunt and uncle Ellen and John Sieminski; his father-in-law and mother-in-law, Richard and Rella Bernabucci; his sister-in-law, Elaine Ziemba and her husband Darryl; his aunts and uncles, Sandy Labieniec, Dawn and Joe Faraci, and William Stajos; as well as many others including the girls Maddie and Leisa, his cousins, sister, brother-in-law, nephew and dear friends.

Besides his parents ,Valerie and Tony, he was predeceased by his uncle, Nicholas Stajos.

James' family would like to thank and recognize the amazing and dedicated staff in the Conklin Building (CB2), the Neurological ICU team (Center 9), and his talented team of doctors affiliated with Hartford Hospital who worked tirelessly to give him more time with his family. James loved the staff at CB2, especially Susan and Jess, his two favorite people there. They are so grateful for the care he received.

His family will receive friends on Wednesday, 4-6 p.m., at the Lodge Community Chapel, 130 Deerfield Rd., Windsor.

Burial will be private.

In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of James can be made to the Connecticut Cancer Foundation, 15 North Main Street, Old Saybrook, CT 06475 or Lymphoma Research Foundation, Wall Street Plaza, 88 Pine Street, Suite 2400 New York, NY 10005 https://lymphoma.org/

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