Robert A. D’Amico, CPA, 83, passed away peacefully at home in Cranston, RI on Saturday, February 3, 2024, with wife and children by his side. When we fell asleep that evening, he took his last breath and fell asleep with us. He is survived by his wife, Louise D’Amico, and his four children and their spouses; Robert A. D’Amico II and his wife Renee D’Amico, D. Joseph D’Amico and his wife Jamie D’Amico, Neil Procaccianti, and his wife Jennifer Procaccianti, and Lea Czerwien and her husband Patrick Czerwien; his brother John D’Amico and his wife Louise D’Amico; and his six grandchildren, Alexandra D’Amico, Dante D’Amico, Lilyana Czerwien, Siena Czerwien, Payton Procaccianti, and Hunter Procaccianti. At his request, there will be no formal services.
We express enduring gratitude to his wife, Louise D’Amico, who tirelessly and without complaint, cared for her husband at home over the last year of his life with unparalleled love, dignity and compassion.
Bob (with one “O” as he often referred to himself) was an amazing and driven man. He graduated from Bryant University in 1960 with a degree in accountancy. He then served four years in the United States Army Reserves, before settling into his work as an accountant in a small office next to his father, Gabe D’Amico, on Smith Hill in Providence. Bob practiced as a Certified Public Accountant for close to 60 years, building a practice that garnered more than 1,000 clients. He was passionately devoted to his accounting practice, and he was regularly in the office at least 6 days every week to answer his clients’ questions and serve their needs. He was always eager to pick up the phone to assist with issues big and small, even if the client’s needs were unrelated to accounting issues. When he felt that the average person was being taken advantage of, he would jump into action and defend them like family. Bob was the type of friend and confidant that would be the first one running toward you in times of trouble when the rest of the world was running by you in the opposite direction. He relished his role as a mentor and advisor for countless people over his long career and he always acted with honor and integrity.
Bob’s well-known sense of humor had no limit. He was always ready with an appropriate joke, story or prank designed to make people laugh and smile. He always knew exactly what to say and how to make people feel important and good about themselves. He often instilled confidence and humility in people with his counsel and took great pride in being the “go to” person that many looked to for important advice in love, life, or business.
Bob was even more dedicated to his family than he was to his clients and friends. He had an unlimited amount of love and generosity for his family. As a young father, he led the neighborhood kids in games of Simon Says from the front porch and refereed pick up baseball games in his yard, without care for the dozens of windows that would shatter in the process. When the games were over, he would pile everyone into his Cadillac and take them for lemonade at Del’s on Oaklawn Ave in Cranston and then to a haunted shack not far from there for more frightening laughs, enriching them with memories that will last a lifetime. He maintained lifelong relationships with many of those neighborhood kids.
As his children grew, he stressed the importance of education. He was always by their sides, providing guidance together with emotional and financial support as they pursued their respective careers and started their own businesses. He always found a way to make good things happen for them and he was determined to do whatever it took to help them achieve their own success. He never tired of giving to them.
As we say goodbye to Bob, we remember the profound and indelible ways that he shaped our lives, always for the better. Sadness gives way to feelings of gratitude, appreciation, and pride that were naturally taken for granted while he was alive. It was just his way. Typical of his selfless and generous nature, he wanted us to move forward in our new lives in the absence of his forceful presence and build even higher upon the strong foundations he laid for us. With a lifetime of fond memories, we are ready to do just that, in his honor, exactly the way he wanted us to.
Please honor Bob with us and shed no tears for a full life, very well lived. Order a martini and celebrate Bob’s life the way he would have…Bombay Sapphire, straight up, no vermouth, with extra olives and a glass of rocks on the side.