Anthony and Catherine LoPresti Family Fund

Anthony and Catherine LoPresti may have been born, raised, fallen in love, and got married in Boston, but Seymour and the Valley were always home.

It was 1958 and the young students -- he was in college, and she was a senior at Dorchester High -- met while working part time at a local A&P grocery store. Two years later they were wed.

In 1963, a teaching job for Anthony brought the LoPresti family to Seymour and they’ve been here ever since. Anthony would work in the Seymour School District climbing the education ladder, while Catherine stayed home and raised their six boys -- Anthony, Edward, Michael, Joseph, Thomas, and Sean.

Anthony would eventually retire as an educator in 1993, ending his career as a well-known and liked principal of Seymour High School.

But in 2017, Catherine passed away shocking the close-knit family. That year, after she was gone, the LoPresti boys realized they wanted to do something to honor her memory, and their father as well. They turned to the Valley Community Foundation (VCF) to help them establish the Anthony and Catherine LoPresti Family Fund.

“Our mom loved spending time with her family, it was her number-one priority,” Sean said. “She loved watching her children and then her grandchildren play sports. She was always there, cheering us on. She was a big fan of UConn basketball, the Red Sox, the Bruins, and the Patriots too.”

Sean said losing his mom changed the LoPresti family dynamic forever. “She was a devoted, strong, loving and generous wife, mother and grandmother,” Sean said. “She was the matriarch and the glue that kept everything in order and held us together.”
Along with being a dedicated educator, Anthony also served on many town boards and committees. In the fall of 2017, prior to losing his beloved Catherine, Anthony received the Kennedy-Pawlak Award for his years of public service to Seymour.

“Seymour was good to me and my family, and I wanted to give back a little bit,” Anthony said. “I don’t know if I gave enough but I was happy to stay in Seymour the rest of my life.”

The Anthony and Catherine LoPresti Family Fund provides scholarships each year to a graduating male and female Seymour High School student-athlete. The graduates must have good grades, demonstrate strong leadership skills, be role models to their peers and have “never give up” attitudes.