Libert Bozzelli, noted community leader from Cuyahoga Falls, dead at 97

Eric Marotta, Akron Beacon Journal
·5 min read
Graduate Libert Bozzelli, 97, waits for the Cuyahoga Falls High School commencement ceremony to begin in May.
Graduate Libert Bozzelli, 97, waits for the Cuyahoga Falls High School commencement ceremony to begin in May.

A little over three months after noted philanthropist Madeline Bozzelli died at age 94, her husband and fellow community leader, Libert Bozzelli, died Thursday at 97.

A World War II veteran, Bozzelli was a sheet metal worker and union business agent who served more than 20 years on Cuyahoga Falls City Council and Summit County Council. Bozzelli was also known for his work as a champion of mental health, among many other endeavors.

Bozzelli was on City Council from 1968 to 1986, and then was a County Council representative from 1986 to 1990.

He was 97 when he received his high school diploma with the Cuyahoga Falls High School Class of 2022 in May, just about a week after his wife died.

Libert Bozzelli, 97, gets an escort from grandson Brent Honey, left, who is a Cuyahoga Falls teacher, and great-grandson Dominick Czetli, who is a graduating senior, on his way to get his diploma at the 2022 Cuyahoga Falls High School commencement.
Libert Bozzelli, 97, gets an escort from grandson Brent Honey, left, who is a Cuyahoga Falls teacher, and great-grandson Dominick Czetli, who is a graduating senior, on his way to get his diploma at the 2022 Cuyahoga Falls High School commencement.

A devout Catholic and a member of St. Joseph Parish for 72 years, Bozzelli attended noon Mass on Sundays, where he had ushered for 52 years. He served on Parish Council, Holy Name Society and as a member of Knights of Columbus, where he served as Faithful Navigator.  He earned the Cleveland Diocese Distinguished Catholic Award and the Knights of Columbus Service Award.

His Italian heritage was also important to him, and he was a member and officeholder in the Italian Professional Business Men's Club, Kenmore Italian Club, Carovillese Men’s Club and Sons of Italy. He was a recipient of the Council of Italian American Societies Service Award.

Madeline and Libert Bozzelli
Madeline and Libert Bozzelli

Libert Bozzelli's journey from war to work

Libert Bozzelli, pictured following his 1942 enlistment in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II.
Libert Bozzelli, pictured following his 1942 enlistment in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II.

Bozzelli was a combat veteran of the U.S. Army Air Corps, having served in North Africa under Gen. George S. Patton. In recent years, he visited Washington, D.C., with the Honor Flight program, where he was asked to place a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Solider in Arlington National Cemetery.

He felt it was a true honor for him and he shed a tear every time he retold the story, his daughter Kathleen Hovey said.

Libert Bozzelli behind the wheel of a truck during World War II.
Libert Bozzelli behind the wheel of a truck during World War II.

After the war, he attended a trade school to become a sheet metal worker after taking an aptitude test at the University of Akron. He then got a job with the Independence Sheet Metal Co.

Bozzelli was a sheet metal worker for seven years before being elected as business agent for Sheet Metal Workers Local 70, now known as The Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers’ Local Union 33, with districts throughout Ohio and West Virginia. He served as a business agent for 42 years.

He also was on the Akron Labor Board, the Akron Regional Development Board, and the Summit County Construction Board and Repeals Review Board. He was a recipient of the Peter Bommarito Community Award from the Tri-County Regional Labor Council AFL-CIO.

Libert Bozzelli as politician.
Libert Bozzelli as politician.

Gary Shaffer, former president of the Akron Tri-County Building and Construction Trades Council, said he and Bozzelli first met in 1982, when Shaffer submitted his bid to run for council president. At the time, Shaffer was a business agent for the plumbers and pipefitters local.

Bozzelli was on Cuyahoga Falls City Council and was working as business agent for the Sheet Metal Workers Local 70.

"Libert said, 'I've been waiting for a guy like you for a long time. I'm going to get you elected,'" Shaffer said, explaining Bozzelli wanted more direct communication with union members.

"I guess it was just the way I went about it," Shaffer said. "I felt that the building trades should go out and visit the jobs and all of that. Once I got elected, they called it the 'Building Trades Posse.' He and I would go out and visit the jobs.

"Every person that Libert introduced me to, it was, 'If you're a friend of Libert, you're a friend of mine," Shaffer said.

He said that around the same time, Bozzelli asked him to help recruit new Democratic precinct members in the county, where there were nearly 200 vacancies. He said they recruited from among the union ranks and quickly filled those vacancies.

Aa a member of Cuyahoga Falls City Council, Bozzelli was the only one to vote against closing Front Street to vehicular traffic. What followed was a 40-year, failed attempt to turn the area into a pedestrian mall, said Cuyahoga Falls Mayor Don Walters.

"He was against it from Day One," Walter said. "Ironically, 40 years later, we opened it back up and he was able to come and he was one of the guest speakers."

More:Cuyahoga Falls veteran Libert Bozzelli graduates high school 80 years after going to war

Philanthropist, community leader

Bozzelli's true passion was in fighting for the underdog, said Hovey, explaining her father was especially active in organizations that worked to help those with mental health issues and the mentally challenged and disabled youth and adults.

Bozzelli has served on the boards of the Weaver School and Workshop, Tarry House for Mental Health and Housing, Fallsview Mental Health; he served as president of Cuyahoga Falls Hospital board, St. Thomas Mental Health Action Committee and ARC.  He wanted all to have the opportunities, skills and means for the quality of life to be productive citizens, Hovey said.

Hovey said Bozzelli also fought to get approval of construction and funding for the Internal Brotherhood Home for Alcoholics, work that earned him the Salvation Army Lifetime Humanitarian Achievement Award.

More:Cuyahoga Falls couple honored for lifetime of service

Mayor Don Walters, left, and the city of Cuyahoga Falls held a ceremony to temporarily rename Broad Boulevard as Bozzelli Boulevard.
Mayor Don Walters, left, and the city of Cuyahoga Falls held a ceremony to temporarily rename Broad Boulevard as Bozzelli Boulevard.

Madeline (Danzi) Bozzelli, who died in May, and her husband celebrated their 75th wedding anniversary in October. They had four children, six grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren and six great-great-grandchildren.

They were married Oct. 26, 1946, at St. Martha's Church in Akron. There was a wedding dinner at Iacomini's Restaurant, followed later in the evening with a reception and dancing for 600 people at Carovillese Club in Akron.

More:Philanthropist Madeline Bozzelli, who raised millions for Greater Akron causes, dies at 94

Mrs. Bozzelli was is estimated to have raised more than $200 million over many decades for numerous charitable causes.

Hovey said her father loved Sunday dinners with all the children and grandchildren and whoever else would show. All the holidays were hosted at his home.

She said spaghetti dinners were enjoyed by the family up until the day before he died.

His 98th birthday would have been Dec. 17.

"He was still inviting people to his birthday party on the day he passed — he loved his birthdays!" Hovey said.

Eric Marotta can be reached at 330-549433, or emarotta@recordpub.com. Follow him on Twitter @MarottaEric.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Libert Bozzelli, 97, noted community leader from Cuyahoga Falls