[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Page 4679]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                        THE PASSING OF JOE TECCE

 Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize and 
celebrate the life of a great American, a Boston institution, and a 
personal friend. Earlier this month the legendary restaurateur Joe 
Tecce passed away, and with his death at age 94 a colorful chapter of 
Boston's history came to a close.
  Joe's journey in the hospitality business started with a pushcart 
selling fruit on the North End's Salem Street at age 14, and due to his 
father's death years earlier, that job would constitute much of the 
family income. His trademark perseverance and business sense allowed 
him to open the Bella Napoli pizzeria in 1947. This 30 seat restaurant 
would host the first of countless guests, from all walks of life and 
from all over the world, who would make an evening special by sitting 
at one of Joe's coveted tables.
  Once formally established on North Washington Street, Joe Tecce's 
Ristorante, or what regulars simply called ``Tecce's'', became a 
favorite of Bostonians, tourists from around the world, and celebrities 
of every stripe for more than 40 years. His reputation grew as his 
business and family did, and for Joe the two were almost inseparable. 
In addition to his traditional culinary skills, Joe became a host of 
such generosity and grace that he became an ambassador for the city 
itself. Standing at the door of Tecce's, often with his trademark wide-
brimmed felt hat, Joe would greet everyone from Elizabeth Taylor and 
Nancy Reagan, to Frank Sinatra and Al Pacino, as well as luminaries 
from the worlds of sports such as Bobby Orr, Reggie Jackson and Larry 
Bird. His love of boxing not only attracted Rocky Marciano and Marvin 
Hagler to visit, it actually resulted in Joe being named to the Boxing 
Commission by then-Governor Ed King.
  To walk into Tecce's was to walk into his home, and as you took your 
seat you could look around and see generations of Joe's family, sons 
and cousins, pushing forward the legacy he started with his fruit cart 
over 60 years earlier. For me and my family, no trip to the Boston 
Garden for a Celtics or Bruins game would be complete without starting 
the evening at Tecce's, and over the many years I knew Joe it became 
customary for my friends to gather there before a political event or a 
night at the theater.
  Joe Tecce loved his family, his neighbors, and the North End and its 
traditions. But it was with his restaurant that he wove together all 
three and throughout the course of his career they became one. His 
legacy of generosity and hospitality leaves the city of Boston a better 
place, and it is with a heavy heart that I join his countless friends 
and beloved family in honoring his time with us.

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