Obituary of Ralph Capriglione

Ralph Capriglione, a carpenter and life-long youth sports fan and coach, died unexpectedly on March 12, 2020 at the age of 68.

Ralph is survived by his children, Scott(Lori) and Chris(Carolyn) Capriglione; his brother, Alan(Kris) Capriglione; his partner, Margie Lundberg; his former wife and mother of his children, Bonnie Currie-Noorda(Paul); his 5 grandchildren, Nick, Noelle, Nate, Vincent Capriglione and Natalie(Corey) Christensen; his niece, Kim(Kristopher) Bourman; his nephew Jon Capriglione; Margie’s daughters Lauri(Steve) Twining and Jennifer(Larry) Britton; her grandchildren, Racquelle, Ethan and Drake Britton and Stevie and Carly Twining. He was preceded in death by his father and mother, John and Marian Capriglione; his sister, Lillian Capriglione; and grandson Dominic Capriglione.

Ralph was born in Duluth, in May 1951, and grew up in Duluth Heights. He spent his youth playing baseball, football and hockey. He also loved going downtown to watch movies and get into a little trouble with his cousin Billy Benson. In 1969, he graduated from Central High School after excelling in the sports he loved. He continued his passion for sports and helping youth athletes, through coaching Junior League Football, playing men’s fast pitch softball and over 20 years of officiating high school/college football and baseball. Once his boys began playing sports, he turned his attention to coaching them through out their youth.

One of Ralph’s biggest, and most impactful, contributions to the community of Hermantown was being the driving force in getting the Hermantown Arena built in 1988. He served as the president of the Hermantown Hockey Association, as well as continuing to coach long after his children’s playing days. He was a mainstay at boy’s and girl’s youth and high school games. Plus, he loved watching the UMD Bulldogs. He is a legend in the Twin Ports hockey community.

The past 30 years, he worked as a carpenter with his friend Dick Lombardi, making peoples dreams a reality. He has spent the past 21 years with his partner in crime, Margie Lundberg, at their home in Hermantown. They spent time working in his garden, that he was so proud of. They enjoyed attending the Bayfront Blues festival every year for the past 21 years, and burger night with their friends.

He loved his grandchildren and made countless trips to Farmington, MN and Connecticut to watch them play basketball, baseball, football, lacrosse and hockey. He always encouraged them to follow their dreams and interests. He loved just hanging out and watching them grow up.

Ralph’s tough exterior was only matched by the size of his heart and how much he cared for other people. He was always there to help a neighbor or friend, no matter where or when. He will be so deeply missed by his friends, family, and all who knew him.

A Memorial Service will be held at the Hermantown Ice Arena, 4309 Ugstad Rd, Hermantown, MN, March 16th from 2pm -3pm. This will be followed by a get-together at Skyline Lanes, 4894 Miller Trunk Highway, Duluth, MN.

The memorial will also be live- streamed for friends who cannot attend via Facebook.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Ralph Capriglione Scholarship Fund on gofundme.com:

HYPERLINK “https://www.gofundme.com/f/ralph-capriglione-scholarship-fund?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link-tip&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet” https://www.gofundme.com/f/ralph-capriglione-scholarship-fund?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=copy_link-tip&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet