Concordia’s Interim Provost and Vice-President Academic, Anne Whitelaw, who worked with Donna from 2014 – 2017 as the Associate Dean, Research in the Faculty of Fine Arts says that she was just one of a long line of associate deans and faculty members who had the privilege to be trained by one of Concordia’s greatest administrative assistants.
“Donna kept all parts of the research office running smoothly, but her passion were the students. She made sure that students got their funding, whether it was nudging departments to make decisions on internal awards, gently harassing Student Academic Services for updates on acceptances, or pushing student accounts and/or SGS to process paperwork, Donna ensured that this one part of their lives as graduate students was as smooth as possible.”
“Laughter was a constant in the office when Donna was around: stories of her weekends with the family; the trials of having curly hair; shopping for bathtubs; coping with Jay’s travel bug were shared with such joie de vivre that it was impossible not to reciprocate with a story of one’s own – and so we started our day.”
“I miss you Donna. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support and for all the work you did for graduate students in the Faculty of Fine Arts.”
Donna Caputo (1969-2020) ‘always thinking of others before herself’
Family, friends and colleagues are mourning the loss of Donna Caputo, a much-loved Concordia staffer of over thirty years, who passed away peacefully in September after a courageous three-and-a-half year battle with cancer.
Donna Caputo started working at Concordia in 1986, during a three-week work-study internship in the Department of Building Engineering as a high school student. She was 16. In 1989, Concordia called to offer her a full-time position. In 1998, she moved to the Department of Art Education where she stayed until 2006, then moving to the Office of the Dean of Fine Arts to work as assistant to the Associate Deans and later as coordinator of research administration.
‘Not a day goes by that I don’t think of my beloved friend and colleague’
By her own admission, much of Donna’s life was tied intimately to Concordia.
“I grew up here. Everyone in my surroundings comes from here. Not only did I gain friendships, and work experience, but also family,” she said in a 2019 interview commemorating her three decades of service.
Her closest Concordia family could be found in the Office of the Dean. Everyone she worked with spoke of the inspiration they drew from quiet strength, incredible positivity, and infectious sense of humour – traits they say she displayed throughout her cancer treatment.
“Two months after her passing, not a day goes by that I don’t think of my beloved friend and colleague, Donna Caputo,” says Mary Di Pietrantonio, who works in the Office of the Dean.
“Donna was a ray of sunshine who fought her battle with cancer with courage and humour. In the early days of her diagnosis, Donna would drop by the Dean’s office either before or after a medical test or appointment—her visits always turned into a warm gathering where those closest to her would huddle to get an update on her condition, what was coming next, and to laugh. She was never bitter nor angry but accepted her condition with dignity.”
Caroline Jeuris and Matilde Rinaldi, are two close friends who worked with Donna for twenty years. They say she was one of the most generous, funny, smart and caring people they knew.
“She always made sure that people were OK and was always thinking of others before herself. We will miss the long, long conversations we used to have in either one another’s offices. Conversations with Donna could never last a few minutes – she had so much to share! We miss our friend terribly and she will be in our hearts forever.”
“I often teased Donna about her long stories,” says Angela Tsafaras affectionately. “She told me her mom and sisters would say to her Donna-tell-us a story. It was sweet because her name was Donatella. We all miss her stories and how her sweet, kind nature made us feel loved.”
‘Laughter was a constant in the office’
But perhaps most importantly, Donna met the love of her life at Concordia: her husband, Jay Mazzamauro, who works in Human Resources. Jay remembers meeting Donna for the first time in Guy Metro station.
“We were both coming from the east end. I was with this friend of ours. We were all getting off at the same time. We had lunch that first day. That was in 1994. We became really good friends and then we started dating in 1997.”
Travel was a shared interest in their relationship. They travelled around Europe, frequently to Italy, the United States where she loved Hawaii and Florida, and Australia.
All the tributes to Donna and the kind words were spot on, Jay says. Even in her last year, she was always more worried about him than she was about herself, he says.
“I think she asked the whole world, ‘look out for him.’ I get people calling me to ask how are you and I say, you’re another person that Donna asked to look after me! Even until her last week, when she was dying, she said I want you to have a good life. That’s the way she was.”
Working on an endowment with advancement
Jay is currently working with Concordia advancement to establish an endowment in her name for students.
“She said I want you to donate money to Concordia to give to students. That was a huge thing for her, taking care of students. She would go out of her way to help students. She became good friends with some of them. We lose that sometimes, but they are why we are here.”
A service was held for Donna in September for immediate family. Many more memories, tributes and stories from family, friends and colleagues from across the university can be read on her message board.
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