Vallejo post office renamed after Janet Capello

April 03--Capello was a lifelong resident of Vallejo who was dedicated to serving her community, always working to improve the lives of those around her, according to a press release.

"Janet Capello was an icon of our community, working tirelessly to help others and fighting passionately to improve our entire district. I was honored to know her and honored to fight for the passage of this bill that will memorialize her lifetime of service," said Thompson. "Her work with the Order of the Sons of Italy helped support so many of our young people pursuing an education and her service to Vallejo improved our community as a whole. Naming this Post Office in her honor will serve as a lasting testament to her love of the people she served."

"Capello was such a powerful force in the fabric of Vallejo. She lived her life as a strong woman of deep convictions -- of her greatest passions were the City and especially the Youth of Vallejo," said Solano County Supervisor Erin Hannigan. "Our new Post Office near her family homestead now bears her name as a tribute to her community spirit."

"Janet was an incredible pillar of our Italian community who strived to better every aspect of her environment," said John Costa, State President of the Grand Lodge of California, Order of Sons and Daughters of Italy in America. "We, as members of the Sons and Daughters of Italy in America, were honored to have known her and to have worked alongside her. This Post Office will be an important reminder to us all to serve our community and those around us and to remember our dear sister Janet."

"Janet and I met 21 years ago and she was such a great person in the community. She was somebody to look up to and it was because of her mentorship that I became the 'Kitchen Queen' for the Sons of Italy," said Marlene Parr. "This honor is so well-deserved because of all that she did for the community."

Capello was born on May 25, 1935, in Vallejo. The granddaughter of Italian-American immigrants, she and her family were lifelong residents of the Vallejo area. An alumna of both Vallejo Central High School and Vallejo Junior College, Capello spent more than 40 years working at the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. During her time there, and in the years following her retirement, she rapidly became a mainstay in public life, serving on countless boards, commissions, and organizational leadership teams.

Capello's deepest passion was the "Sons of Italy" organization. A fiercely proud Italian American, she was a member of Lodge No. 1626 for more than 63 years, and was the first to bring the organization's "Sons of Italy Scholarship Commission" to Vallejo.

In her role as Chairwoman, Capello helped hundreds of local students attend college, and in her work overseeing the Sons of Italy's various charitable events, she raised thousands of dollars every year to support Alzheimer's research at the University of California at Davis. Capello served at different times as Vice-President of the Grand Lodge of California and as Secretary of the United Lodges, two of the organizations most distinguished posts, and she received the Dr. Vincenzo Sellaro Award, the Sons of Italy's highest honor, in 2007.

Capello died in 2012 at 77.

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