Obituary from C.R. Lyons & Sons, Funeral Directors:
Robert P. Gnoza, 63, passed away on July 16, 2014 in Beverly Hospital after a lengthy illness. He was the husband of Deborah M. (Correia) Gnoza with whom he shared 38 years of marriage.
Born in Dorchester on May 14, 1951, he was the son of the late Thomas P., Sr. and Margaret (Donlan) Gnoza. Bob grew up as one of eight siblings in Danvers, Massachusetts, where he graduated from Danvers High School with the class of 1969.
He attended North Shore Community College, Northeastern University and Wentworth Technical Institute. He loved spending time with his brothers and sisters and their families and loved to remember childhood adventures with the Gnoza clan and their large extended family.
He moved to Middleton in 1980, where he and Debi raised their children and later lived in Georgetown and Topsfield.
He was a former firefighter with the Danvers Fire Department where he served as the Danvers Firefighter Union President and was elected Historian of the Massachusetts Professional Firefighter Union.
After early retirement from the Fire Department, Bob was a construction supervisor working on many local commercial buildings and projects. He also served as a member of the Planning Board in Middleton and was actively involved with his community as a member of the Middleton Baseball and Softball League where he started the very first umpire program.
He served as a baseball umpire with the North Shore Baseball Umpires Association, traveling around the North Shore, where his calls could be heard from miles away. Recently, he was made an honorary lifetime member of the NSBUA.
His greatest love was, however, youth football and Bob served as a coach and board member for the Masconomet Youth Football Program and led the Cape Ann Youth Football League as its former commissioner. He was also a member of USA Football.
Coach Gnoza coached hundreds of youth in his more than 20 years of coaching and was truly proud of each and every player that came through his program. In 2008, he was honored as the recipient of the Massachusetts Youth Coach of the Year Award from the Massachusetts High School Football Coaches Association.
Besides his wife Debi, he is survived by his children, Melissa and William Ogden of Topsfield and Manuel Gnoza and Julie Monagle of Danvers, his grandchildren, Cooper and Laney Ogden and Luca and Edda Gnoza, his siblings, Thomas and Arlene Gnoza of W. Newbury, Susan and David Russell of Wisconsin, Jill “Jackie” and George Benas of Boxford, John Gnoza and Victoria Lynch of Milton, Mary and Charles Smith of Peabody, Gregory and Judy Gnoza of Middleton and Jeffrey Gnoza of Georgetown; and his in-laws, Ann and Ed Nunery of Maine, and Josie Correia of Amesbury and many nieces and nephews.
His Funeral Service will be celebrated at 11 a.m. on Saturday, July 26, 2014 in Middleton Congregational Church, 68 Maple St., Middleton. Burial will follow in Oakdale Cemetery, Middleton. Visiting hours are Friday, July 25, 2014 from 4-8 p.m. at C.R. Lyons & Sons, Funeral Directors, 28 Elm St., Danvers.
In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be made in Bob’s name to the Coach Gnoza Memorial Football Scholarship at Peoples Bank. Donations may be made at any Peoples United Bank or mailed to the Topsfield Branch at 15 Main St., Topsfield, MA 01983.
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