BEVERLY: Carmello “Charlie” Anthony Amore, 95, a lifelong resident of Beverly, passed away peacefully on Sunday, October 21, 2012 at the home of his daughter Carol, surrounded by his children and grandchildren. He was the husband of the late Catherine R. (Campbell) Amore with whom he shared fifty-nine years of marriage.
Born in Lawrence on April 14, 1917, he was the son of the late Alfio and Barbara (Ragonese) Amore. He was a lifelong resident of Beverly. A U.S. Army veteran of World War II, Charlie served in the Pacific Theater before being honorably discharged in January 1946.
Charlie was the owner of the Capri Restaurant, The North End of the North Shore, which he founded and managed for 33 years. The Capri was an award-winning family restaurant known for its pizza and famous posted sign “Customer relations and all other hanky panky strictly prohibited. We reserve the right to serve you. No fraternizing.” The Capri was well known as an informal gathering place for local politicians and businessmen.
Charlie was also a candidate for Mayor of Beverly in 1969, with his slogan, “I care, Do you?” He touched the lives of many families on the North Shore through his community work, as an employer of local youth and as a constant benefactor to shelters and needy families.
Prior to owning the Capri he was the owner of Amore’s Cleansers on Rantoul Street. He also proudly served on the board of the Beverly Housing Authority.
He was a lifelong parishioner of St. Mary Star of the Sea Parish and a longtime member of the Italian Community Center and the Vittori Rocci Post.
He is survived by his children, William Amore and his wife Jean of Rowley, Barbara Moran and her husband Robert of Boston, Carol Amore and Sally Amore both of Beverly and Thomas Amore and his wife Jill from Odessa, FL; two sisters-in-law, Virginia Amore and Rita Amore both of Beverly; ten grandchildren: Dan, Helen, and Patrick Amore, Catherine and Natalie Moran, Sarah, Natasha, and Felicia Carr and Taylor and Carly Amore, and many nieces and nephews. These are the people he loved and adored and whom loved and adored him in return. He was also predeceased by his two brothers, Joseph and Dominic Amore, his sister, Ida Menesale and a sister-in-law, Caroline Andersen.
His funeral Mass will be celebrated on Friday in the St. Mary Star of the Sea Church, 253 Cabot St., Beverly at 11 a.m. Visiting hours will be held on Thursday in the Grondin Funeral Home 376 Cabot St., Beverly from 4 – 8 p.m. Relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend. Interment will be held in St. Mary’s Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in his memory to the Sarah Carr Special Needs Trust Fund, c/o Peoples United Bank, 240 Cabot St., Beverly, MA 01915.