Fabrizio Esposito, 78, owner of South Jersey pizzeria

Fabrizio "Fabri" Esposito loved cooking -- for family and for people who passed through his restaurants in Riverside and Pennsauken where he was known for his New York-style pizza and Fab Steak Stromboli.

On Thursday, April 13, Mr. Esposito, 78, of Delran died at Virtua Voorhees Hospital after battling lung cancer.

Born in 1939 and raised in Airola, northeast of Naples, Mr. Esposito left Italy when he was 17 to travel the world, his family said.

He went to Spain and Venezuela before he decided to stay in the Dominican Republic where he lived for 11 years and worked as a jeweler. During that time, he returned to his home in Italy and met his wife of 54 years, Maddalena Gallo.

The couple met through friends at the Madonna dell'Addolorata Festival. They dated briefly.

"He saw my mom, fell in love with her, and married her," said the couple's daughter, Josephine Hubbs. "They got married within two months."

Mr. Esposito returned to Santo Domingo with his wife where they started their family before moving to the United States in the early 1970s. Maddalena Esposito's mother lived in New York where there also were more employment opportunities, the family said.

They spent a year in New York where Mr. Esposito did maintenance for a funeral home. The family moved to New Jersey and Mr. Esposito spent a year learning the restaurant trade while working at a pizza shop in Mahwah.

In the early 1970s, Mr. Esposito bought Angelo's Pizzeria in Riverside. He sold the business in 1983 to devote more time to Fabrizio's Pizza Restaurant in Pennsauken that he had opened in 1980. He sponsored many non-profit groups, such as the local Police Athletic League.

"He was a great person, a great boss, always joking around, and very kind-hearted," said Mario Vilches who knew Mr. Esposito for 25 years, and who bought Fabrizio's in October. "He always wanted me to take over the business."

At home, Mr. Esposito loved to cook, especially Sunday afternoon dinners when his children and grandchildren would join him and his wife for elaborate meals with two pastas and a meat or fish entree.

Often, Mr. Esposito cooked with tomatoes, basil, celery and other vegetables from his garden. The family canned tomatoes that were used throughout the year for gravy. Mr. Esposito also made meals with the animals he hunted -- deer for barbecues and small game such as rabbit and pheasant.

He also enjoyed romancing his wife, bringing her red roses on their anniversary.

"While they were cooking or cleaning the house, he spontaneously would start dancing with her," Hubbs said.

He taught his children to work hard, she said.

"He spoiled the grandchildren, but he never spoiled me," said his son, Angelo "Lou" Esposito.

Besides to his wife, daughter, and son, Mr. Esposito is survived by another daughter, Francesca DiCiurcio, five grandchildren, and two brothers and two sisters.

A life celebration is scheduled for Tuesday, April 18, from 6 to 9 p.m. and Wednesday, April 19, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at Givnish Funeral Home, 1200 Route 130 North, Cinnaminson. A funeral mass is scheduled for Wednesday, April 19, at 11 a.m. at Jesus, the Good Shepherd, 101 Middleton St., Riverside. Entombment will follow in Lakeview Memorial Park, Route 130 North, Cinnaminson. In lieu of flowers, donations in Mr. Esposito's memory may be made to the Delran Emergency Squad, 900 Chester Ave., Delran, NJ, 08075, or made online at  www.delranems.org.