Reverend Monsignor John Robert Giggi, known fondly as Father Bob, died August 7 at Wingate at Weston at age 90. He was son of the late John and Mary (Oliva) Giggi. He graduated from St. Sebastian and was ordained in Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Boston. Fr. Bob then started his priesthood as Parochial Vicar at St. Mary of the Assumption in Revere from 1953-1955, then served as Parochial Vicar at St. Philip Neri Church in Waban from 1955-1961, while there he also served as the Chaplain at Newton Wellesley Hospital. Fr. Bob then continued on to Boston State Hospital in Mattapan in 1961-1979, served as Parochial Vicar St. Andrew the Apostle Catholic Church in Forest Hills 1980-1981, then onto his final Parish at St. Linus Catholic Church in Natick in 1981 until his retirement in 2013. While serving as Pastor at St. Linus in 1998 he received a Prelate of Honor to his Holiness granting him the title of Monsignor. His priesthood was his life. He was well loved by nearly 7,000 families and loved being their pastor. “Bobbies Beauties” stayed his constant friends even after he retired, as did so many of his former parishioners. Fr. Bob returned to his homes in Westwood and the Cape until his death.
Fr. Bob is survived by Marianne Stoecker and Liz Smith, RN, and many other cousins.
A Pontifical Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated in Saint Linus Catholic Church, 119 Hartford Street, Natick, on Friday August 10, at 11:00 A.M. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend. Interment will follow at Mount Wollaston Cemetery, 20 Sea St., Quincy. Visiting hours will be held Thursday evening August 9, at the Saint Linus Catholic Church from 4:00 P.M. – 8:00 P.M.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105, or to the Westwood Permanent Firefighters Assoc., WPFFA, P.O. Box 382, Westwood, MA 02090. Funeral Arrangements by John Everett & Sons Natick, MA.