Emilie Erb Capone

With deep love and profound sadness, we share the news of the passing of our beloved mother Emilie Erb Capone, who left this world on Tuesday, June 23rd. She was a woman of remarkable kindness, strength, and faith. Emilie was born in 1942 into a humble household in Monroe, Wisconsin to parents of Swiss-born Ernst and Bertha (Buholzer) Erb. She and her sister Lisetta, and her brother Emil, grew up helping their father, a cheesemaker, with his daily responsibilities. Her own childhood experience with polio instilled in her a lifelong commitment to helping people struggling to achieve the level of mobility and independence most of us take for granted. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin in Madison with a degree in Physical Therapy. Upon graduation and for the next 40 years, Emilie used her training along with vast reserves of tenacity and a witty sense of humor, to touch countless lives, helping others to recover from injuries and orthopedic surgeries. When she took a position at Nashville Hospital in Tennessee, she met Robert (Bob) Capone, a charming cardiologist from New Jersey who became the love of her life. They married on October 9th, 1964. Together they moved to Burlington, Vermont, then the West Coast (Oakland and Davis, California) while Bob completed his service in the US Navy. In 1972, they moved to Barrington, Rhode Island, where she took a job with the Visiting Nurses Association, traveling the East Bay of R.I. to provide services for people unable to leave their homes. Meanwhile, she and Bob raised their two sons, Rob and Jeff. Over the next 18 years they took advantage of all the Northeast had to offer - hiking and skiing in New Hampshire, sailing and beaching in Rhode Island, and museums, music and theater in Providence & Boston. She was an avid sports fan as well, a loyal Patriots and Red Sox fan, enjoyed Wimbledon, the US Open and was a vocal supporter of her two kids from the sidelines. When their sons graduated from high school their wanderlust returned, and they moved to Rochester, New York and then Clifton Park, New York. With their relocation came a renewed interest in travel - their adventures included Provincial France, Russia, the Panama Canal, the Outer Banks with Bob’s family and many ski trips to the Rockies. She and Bob also shared their home over the years with many foreign exchange students - Beat (Switzerland), Rafaela (Ecuador), Martin and Stefan (Germany), Juan (Dominican Republic), Amelle (Finland), and Hung Suen (China). Throughout each of the towns where she lived, Emilie gave generously of her time through community outreach. She was active in her local Catholic parishes as a eucharistic minister, lector, and member of the Parish Council. Her faith was profound, practical, and an inspiring example to everyone she encountered. After the death of Bob in 2011, she moved to West Hartford, Connecticut to be closer to her family. She was a proud and devoted grandmother, and in the years that followed enjoyed spending time with them at many ballet performances, music recitals, soccer and lacrosse games, holidays, birthdays, graduations and other family gatherings. As she gracefully aged, she appreciated all of the caregivers that helped her along from the McAuley and Arden Court homes. Emilie is survived by her sons Rob (and wife Mary Beth) of Portsmouth NH, and Jeff (and wife Jessica) of West Hartford CT, and grandchildren Mason, Rocky, Jules, and Jacqueline. She is predeceased by her beloved sister and brother in Wisconsin, and is lovingly remembered by their children and families, as well as other dear nieces, nephews, and cousins and their families across the country. Services will be private. In lieu of flowers, please donate in her honor to Catholic Charities USA (https://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/) or the charity of your choice.

Emilie Erb Capone

January 17, 1942 - June 23, 2026