Angelo A. Parisi

Waltham - Mr. Angelo A. 'Bud' Parisi, of Waltham and Boca Raton, Florida died Tuesday, February 23, 2010 at Pine Crest Rehabilitation in Delray, Florida. He was 83. Bud was born in Cambridge on October 19, 1926, a son of the late Angelo Francis and Gaetana (Lentini) Parisi. A longtime Waltham resident he and his wife Anne spent their winters at their home in Boca Raton, Florida. Bud served his country in the United States Army during World War II and saw action in the Panama invasion. He began his bookbinding career in 1946 at the Harvard Bindery where he worked as a "hand finisher" decorating the covers of library books with gold leaf, hand-set brass type, gas flame, and artisan skill. Bud was soon annoying his boss by encouraging the use of Linotype cast lead type and a Kensol stamping machine to letter a cover in a single "hit" rather than one line at a time by hand. Bud's ambition led him to invest in some old machinery so he could work nights and weekends at home, stamping diaries with personal names and logos for a large bindery. As his business grew Bud asked his boss at Harvard if he could switch to part-time work. His boss agreed initially, but on the first day that Bud was scheduled to be off he called and fired him. This was 1958. Bud had two children, Carole, age seven and Paul, age 5. As they were driving to a doctor's appointment Bud told his wife Anne that he had been fired. She told him to drive faster---she had gone into labor. Their third child John was born that day, October 31. Bud had no business training or experience. He had only $1000 in cash borrowed from his mother. He had little prospect of success. But Bud was confident and determined. He had recently purchased a two-family house so that the rent could pay his mortgage. He had no reliable income, so he worked nights cleaning bathrooms at Filene's to put food on the table. With no letter of introduction, Bud went to visit the librarians at the Boston Athenaeum and Simmons College to ask for work. He impressed them with his character and initiative and was given a few books to bind. And so began Acme Bookbinding. You might wonder where Acme got it's name. Well, Acme means the pinnacle or top and it was first in the phone book. In those days the alphabet was the key to a high ranking in the Yellow Pages---the equivalent today of a high rank on Google. Bud's business philosophy was simple. Produce the best product possible. Be honest. Let your customers be your sales force. His method of hiring a staff was also simple; remember that he had no money. Bud put up signs in colleges all around. Young people applied for the jobs as part time workers. They were smart, learned quickly and understood his tenuous situation. Slowly the company grew. In 1978 Bud and his son Paul purchased the successor to the Harvard Bindery-New England Bookbinding. Bud's old boss was now working for Bud. This acquisition of a company 50% larger than Acme Bookbinding was a stretch, especially since the combined company was limited to its then 12, 000 SF 4th floor space at 300 Summer Street in Boston. Soon it was clear to Bud that the space, home to Acme Bookbinding for 20 years, was hurting the company - even though the rent was dirt cheap. Now Bud was on a mission. He wanted to buy a building to house his growing company. He found a perfect site - 5 acres with a burned out 25, 000 SF building that needed some work. But no bank would give him a loan. His friends told him that he had tunnel vision. No one would lend to a business with limited assets and an unimpressive financial record. But Bud was determined. He called on all the major banks, and then moved on to suburban banks far from his business. Bud finally got his break at Shawmut Needham Bank. The loan officers were impressed by his persistence and knowledge. Unbelievably, they loaned Bud $500, 000. Now he had just 3 months to close the deal with the seller, renovate the building and prepare it to house a bookbinding. The stress was more than Bud bargained for. With a full agenda of "things to do", Bud took a shortcut on a machine setup, disabled a safety and had an accident that smashed three fingers on his right hand. Undaunted, Bud tackled his therapy and slowly he regained the use of fingers he was told he would never use again. Fired up by the need to get things done Bud became the general contractor to renovate his new home. Bear in mind that Bud had no training as a contractor. He was indomitable and "he had no choice". Bud succeeded in this transition and 3 years later, after another bindery acquisition, Bud was doubling the size of Acme's building and 13 years later he would double it again when the company added trade binding to its library binding base. During those years of growth, Bud gave control of his business to his sons, Paul and John. He continued to work but he had found a new passion. On his 40th birthday, Anne bought golf clubs for Bud. Little did she know how this would change their lives! Bud attacked golf with his full energy. It would not be long before Bud was in the running at member-guest championships with his clutch putting and long drives. His cherished achievements were two holes in one and several rounds of golf where he broke 80. They say that behind every successful man is a strong woman. Well Bud certainly had that in Anne. Together they built a family and a company. They shared 60 years of marriage. They fought cancer and emphysema. They were a team. Bud was one of seven children. He had 2 sisters and 4 brothers and a mother who had the most marvelous laugh one could imagine. Bud's mother was called Honey - she lived to the age of 100. Bud valued his family above all else. His children meant the world to him. He believed in hard work. He never made excuses. He was quick to point out a better way to do most anything. He always had something to say - and much of what he had to say might have been taken as criticism. But he was usually right. Under his strong exterior and sometimes gruff demeanor, Bud had a heart of gold. He did not think himself to be good with words but he could rattle off a joke on any subject with just the right message. He had an amazing talent for numbers, inherited by his children and grand children and evidenced in his skill at card playing, a skill and passion also inherited by the grandchildren. First Kelly, then Justine, then Grant, then Chase, then Reid and finally Sean - he was so proud of them. He delighted at their every achievement. Bud's favorite sayings will always be held dear to those who knew him best; "If you have time to do it over again, you have time to do it right the first time" - and you would do it over again if Bud was involved. "Measure twice, cut once." "Don't be impressed by what people say, but pay attention to what they do." Unfortunately for all of us, and for Bud, cigarettes robbed him of his golden years. He lived his life with courage and he ended it the same way. He was not afraid. He told his family that he was ready to dance with the angels. His last wish was that all of his children and grandchildren strive for happiness - and to look for it the relationships with family. Bud was proud of his entire family, but perhaps never realized how proud they were of him. Bud would also like to include Iris Liencres, his caregiver of the past 12 years, in his list of family. She enabled Bud and Anne to live on their own when their health began to fail them. Special mention should also be given to Bud's daughter Carole who would not allow the medical system to give up on her dad. He was predeceased by his siblings, Louis, George and Joseph Parisi and Freda Maccagnano. He leaves his wife of 60 years, Antoinette 'Anne' (Memmolo) Parisi; his children, Carole A. Parisi of Waltham, Paul A. Parisi and his wife, Margaret, of Lincoln and John B. Parisi and his wife, Barbara, of Billerica; his grandchildren, Kelly, Sean, Justine, Grant, Chase and Reid Parisi; his siblings, Charles Parisi of Jupiter, Florida and Mary Dagostino of Waltham and many nieces and nephews. Family and friends will honor and remember Bud's life by gathering for calling hours in The Joyce Funeral Home, 245 Main Street (Rte. 20), Waltham on Friday from 4 to 8 p.m. and again at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning before leaving in procession to Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted Church, 880 Trapelo Road, Waltham where his Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Entombment will follow in Calvary Cemetery Mausoleum, Waltham. Memorials in his name may be made to Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted Church, 880 Trapelo Road, Waltham, MA 02451 or to Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA 02114.