1952 ~ 2015
Ross "Tiger" passed unexpectedly at his home. He was born in Salt Lake City, UT to parents John Caputo and Barbara Fry. He grew up in the Rose Park neighborhood where he spent countless hours at the Caputo Family store. He was found, even at the young age of 3, with a bat in his hand playing ball with the older boys. He attended Bishop Glass, Guadalupe, and Judge Memorial schools. He excelled in all things athletic, quickly developing expert skills in baseball, basketball and football. He is fondly remembered as 'The Toe' after successfully kicking the longest football field goal on record, 60 yards to win the game against Hillcrest High School on Friday September 4, 1970. The state record would stand for 38 years and land him in the encyclopedia. He was awarded numerous accolades for scholastics and athletics. He attended Arizona State, Gonzaga, and Weber State Universities and played baseball for all three. He played men's fastpitch softball starting in the late 1970s. He was inducted into the Utah Softball Hall of Fame in 1997.
He began working at Rose Park Golf Course in 1976 and was promoted to the course superintendent position in 1989, a position which he held continuously for nearly 40 years. The city honored him with superintendent of the year in 2002 and called him "The King of the Greens". He also worked at Northwest Multipurpose Center for multiple years. When he wasn't mowing greens he was most likely found at the ballpark.
He was a kind, caring, compassionate and gentle man. He loved his family, eating meals together, watching movies, attending sporting events, coaching his children, golfing, and playing with his grandchildren.
He is survived by his wife Wendy; six children, Marjorie (Chris) Wheeler, Cristina "Teeny", Cassandra "Nannie" (Kelly) Jacobs, Eric "EJ" (Bridget Berrios), Marissa "Rissi", and Michael; seven grandchildren Elizabeth, Parker, Olivia, Riley, Kelly, Emma, and Luca. He is also survived by two siblings Stephanie (Mike) Olsen and Steven Caputo; uncle Frank, aunts Eileen (Willard) Tubbs and Margaret Seeronen, and countless Caputo cousins. Preceded in death by his parents, brother John Jr., and several extended family members.
A Vigil and viewing will be held at Our Lady of Lourdes Church 700 South 1065 East, Salt Lake City, UT on Saturday March 7, 2015 from 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. A celebration of his life follows at 2:00 p.m. in the Judge Memorial High School Cafeteria; enter through the Judge Memorial parking lot. Ross wished to be cremated, with private interment services to be held at a later date.
A memorial scholarship has been established at Judge. In lieu of flowers please make contributions to the scholarship. Contributions can be mailed directly to Judge, indicating in the memo line 'in memory of Ross Caputo' or online at
www.judgememorial.com, select giving, donate now, other, and include a comment 'in memory of Ross Caputo'.
The family would like to thank Tony Caputo and Caputo's Gourmet Food Market & Deli for their love and support and Neil O'Donnell and Sons Mortuary for their services.
Ross, Bambino, Tiger, Otto, Dad, and Papa we love and miss you. "Take a pitch!" "Bend your knees, keep your elbow in!" "Take a divot!" "Legends Never Die!"
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Published in Salt Lake Tribune from Mar. 5 to Mar. 6, 2015