Salvatore Grasso; Artist
Hyfler/Rosner
The Boston Globe
April 13, 2006 Thursday
By Gloria Negri
SALVATORE GRASSO, 60; GLOUCESTER ARTIST, COACH BATTLED ALS
Until the day before he died, Salvatore F. Grasso used his
eyes to spell out on the computer the same question he
always asked his brother when he visited him at Sinai
Rehabilitation Hospital in Stoughton.
"When is the cure?"
For the 11 years since he was diagnosed with amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, Mr. Grasso, an
award-winning Gloucester artist, lived every day with the
hope a cure would be found, said his brother, George of
Norwood.
Neither colon cancer surgery several years ago nor the loss
of a kidney a year ago diminished Mr. Grasso's hope that he
might make a recovery or dimmed his zest for life, said
Peter Alessi of Eastham, a childhood friend.
On Saturday, Mr. Grasso, who had been a rugged athletic man
before his illness, was taken to the emergency room at
Caritas Good Samaritan Medical Center in Brockton, where he
died Sunday. He would have turned 61 April 27.
Mr. Grasso's symptoms manifested slowly first, a weakness in
his legs that "worked its way up." An avid hockey player, an
ice skater, and a cyclist, he didn't understand what was
happening to him, his brother said.
As his illness progressed, he could no longer paint in
acrylics, watercolors, or oils the romantic and
impressionistic cityscapes, seascapes, and still lifes or
the big bold canvasses that won him a place in the Who's Who
in American Art and a number of prestigious awards. He might
paint a fishing dragger one time and a delicate nude the
next.
"Sal was incredible," said Rockport artist Tom Nicholas.
"Until his illness, he painted a lot while holding down his
regular job. He loved to do city scenes of Boston and New
York. His work was widely exhibited. . . . With his limited
time, Sal accomplished a remarkable amount, not only in
volume but in high quality."
Mr. Grasso's wife, Sheila E. (Heaney), died in 1991 when she
was 42 and their children were 10 and 14.
"What was remarkable about Sal," Nicholas said, "was that he
endured his illness so long, and I think it was because he
was so concerned about his children."
Not long into Mr. Grasso's illness, "when the only thing he
could move were his eyes, Sal would blink through the eye
glass and project the letters and words on the screen that
he wanted to communicate. It worked well until the last year
or two. He still used the eye scanner, but his words became
more difficult to read," said his brother. "But I could
still make out what Sal was trying to say. It always
included, `When is the cure?' "
Mr. Grasso was born in Boston, one of three children of
Fortunato and Santa (Marra) Grasso.
"Sal was a fantastic kid," said his brother, who is 15 years
older. "He played hockey in high school and then later on
became a master coach for hockey youth leagues."
He graduated from Hyde Park High School in 1963 and from the
Art Institute of Boston in 1966.
He wanted a full-time career in art, his brother said, but
got a job as international sales manager for Catania-Spagna
Corp. of Ayer, a manufacturer of cooking oil, where he
worked for about 20 years. He stopped working in 1996because
of his illness.
After his marriage, he and his wife moved to Gloucester
because he wanted to be near the Rockport art colony. He was
a member of the Rockport Art Association.
In 1986, the publication American Artist interviewed him.
"I think painting is in you from the start," he told the
interviewer. "It's intuitive. We all know people who, when
you meet them, are the last you'd expect to be artists. But
it comes out, despite them. It's inside. It may sound
idealistic, but when someone admires one of my paintings, it
means more to me than if I sell it. I want my work to show
the viewer what I'm like. If it can do that, then I've
accomplished at least a part of my goal."
Along with his painting, Mr. Grasso missed sports. He was a
longtime member of the Skating Club of Boston, and in the
early stages of his disease, his brother would take him to
the club to watch his daughter, Lisa Marie, whom he had
taught to skate when she was 6, perform.
"Dad skated right up to his illness," said Lisa Marie, now a
skating coach herself. "He was very outgoing and kept in
high spirits even when he was sick."
Mr. Grasso coached youth hockey in Gloucester, and his teams
were involved in an exchange with Westmount, Canada, where a
room at the rink is named in his honor, said his brother.
"Even to the end," George said, "Sal loved life."
Besides his brother and his daughter, Mr. Grasso leaves a
son, Shawn of Gloucester, and a sister, Grace Lyons of
Norwood.
A funeral Mass will be said at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday in St.
Ann's Church, Holy Family Parish in Gloucester. Burial will
be in Seaside Cemetery, Gloucester.