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Community Corner

About Town With Mark Snyder: Stoughton Mourns Jeff Ciffolillo

Welcome to "About Town with Mark Snyder," a column that will keep you up to the minute with what's what, who's who and what's going on around town

Jeffrey A. "Jeff" Ciffolillo, 49, a resident of Canton for the last 17 years, died unexpectedly Sunday, Sept. 22, 2013 at Norwood Hospital. He was the beloved husband of Carol (Heptig) Ciffolillo for 18 years and the amazing father of Christian and Colby Ciffolillo. 

Although Jeff was from Canton, he impacted many of us in Stoughton.

Jeff was quite involved in Stoughton’s downtown.  He was a landlord who valued his tenants, and tried to keep his properties looking good.  At one point, Jeff owned the former 5 & 10 cent store that served as a temporary town hall, and also housed the Stoughton Chamber of Commerce. 

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It now has a church as its main tenant. He also owned the former Bay Bank building in the center of town, which houses Planet Security, Millennium Marketing, and a number of small businesses.

And, he owned the former Stoughton Post Office building, which now houses a dentist, Betsy Disharoon. He currently owned the original Jewish Community Center building at 1044 Central St., which has Amethyst Day Spa among its tenants.

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As for his biography, his obituary notes that he was born in Somerville, N.J. on Aug. 11, 1964, son of Joseph and Joyce (Fink) Ciffolillo. He was raised in Easton and was a 1982 graduate of Oliver Ames High School.

Jeff continued his education at UMass-Amherst, graduating in 1986 with a Bachelor's degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management. In 1988, he added a degree in Culinary Arts from the Culinary Institute of America in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

He later earned a master's degree in business administration from UMass- Amherst. He furthered his studies at Boston University, graduating in 2002 with an advanced real estate certificate and in 2006 he earned a degree in construction technology from Northeastern University, Boston. Recently, Jeff attended Harvard Business School of Continuing Education.

Jeff worked as a commercial real estate developer and was the proprietor of both New England Realty Group of Canton and Home Helpers of Canton. A licensed registered broker and land developer in Massachusetts, he was a member of the board of directors for Father Bill's & MainSpring.

He was an avid golfer and collector of sports memorabilia. Jeff was a member of the Bay Club in Mattpoisett and a lifetime member of the Delta Upsilon Fraternity.

Terry Schneider, Executive Director of the Stoughton Chamber of Commerce, was sitting in Ciffolillo's Red Sox seats Sunday when Jeff succumbed while attending the Patriots' game. He tells About Town, "Jeff was a friend of mine, someone who I trusted and respected. He was way too young to have been taken from us, but we must accept what we cannot change and take this time to remember the wonderful person he was, mourn for our loss, and do everything we can to help his family get through this very distressful and shocking time."

John Yazwinski, President & CEO of Father Bill's & MainSpring, based in Quincy, wrote, "Jeff was a tremendous friend and a great leader to our mission at Father Bill's & MainSpring.  As a longtime Board Member, Jeff was very instrumental in helping us create over 300 units of housing for families and individuals in need. There are a lot of children who are not homeless anymore because Jeff Ciffolillo believed in ending homelessness one life at a time."

State Department of Transportation employee Ed Coppinger tells About Town, “I got to know Jeff pretty well during the planning of the reconstruction project to revitalize downtown Stoughton a few years back. Jeff was always a fixture at the planning meetings and came with a smile on his face and always offered positive and straight forward advice concerning the scope of the project and how it would affect downtown merchants. It was through his input and expertise that made the project a success.

Adds Stoughton landscaper Phil Yaitanes, “Jeff was a longtime customer and also a personal friend. We just talked last week. My thoughts and prayers are with Carol and his family. I still can't believe it.”

In addition to his wife Carol and his parents, he is survived by his children, Christian and Colby Ciffolillo of Canton; his brothers, Joseph Ciffolillo of Mattapoisett, Jon Ciffolillo and his wife, Julie, of Mattapoisett and Jamie Ciffolillo and his wife, Pam, of Mattapoisett; son-in-law of Ruth Heptig of Canton and her late husband Christian Heptig; brother-in-law of William and Donna Heptig of Woburn and Robert Heptig of Wells, M.E.; also survived by several aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews.

Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend visiting hours on Thursday from 4-8 p.m. in Kane Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 605 Washington St. (Rte.138) Easton. A funeral Mass will be held on Friday at noon in the Holy Cross Church 225 Purchase St., Easton. Interment will follow in Canton Corner Cemetery, Canton.

In lieu of flowers donations in Jeff's memory may be sent to Father Bill's & MainSpring, Development Office, 422 Washington St., Quincy, MA. 02169. For directions or condolences visit www.kanefuneralhome.

Jeff will be missed by all of us who had the pleasure to know him. May he Rest in Peace.


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