Family Obituary by Marie Fonzi

Gaeton Fonzi, 76, of Satellite Beach, died peacefully on Thursday, August 30 surrounded by his loving family.  He is survived by Marie, his wife of 55 years, four children (Irene, Guy, Maria, and Christopher) and their spouses (Jeff, Dolly, Victor and Gina), eight grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Mr. Fonzi’s fame as an investigative journalist earned him a place on the Senate and House Committees which investigated the JFK assassination and subsequently resulted in the publication of his book The Last Investigation in 1993 which is highly critical of the Warren Commission Report.  His book was considered by many critics as among the best books on the subject and he was recognized as a respected authority on those aspects of the assassination involving anti-Castro Cubans and the intelligence agencies.

Previous to his involvement investigating the assassination, Mr. Fonzi was Senior Editor of Philadelphia Magazine where he wrote over 100 major feature articles and won the magazine’s first national journalism award.   During this time, he published Annenberg: a Biography of Power and was featured in Best Magazine Articles 1968.

An honors journalism graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Mr. Fonzi served in the US Army Infantry and rose to Captain in a Civil Affairs reserve unit.  Upon moving to Miami in 1972, Mr. Fonzi became editor of Miami Magazine and senior editor of its sister publication, Gold Coast.  Throughout his career, Mr. Fonzi wrote for New York Times Magazine, Esquire, Penthouse, Avenue Magazine, the New York Daily News and the Chicago Tribune.  He won numerous awards including two local Sigma Delta Chi Awards and a National Sigma Delta Chi Award.

Mr. Fonzi was an avid runner who completed numerous races and three marathons.  His greatest joy was sailing with loved ones on his Mariah Jones.  He has been called the best investigative reporter who ever drew breath, a man whose courage and judgment could be trusted without hesitation.  So who could dispute this lifetime Yankee fan’s claim that he was indeed Joe DiMaggio.

Mass to be held at 11am on Tuesday, September 4 at Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church, 3050 North Hwy A1A, Indialantic, Florida.  Luncheon reception at 1:00 p.m., at City Tropics Bistro, 249 Fifth Avenue, Indialantic, Fla.

Printed Obituaries:

Miami Herald August 31, 2012
Miami Herald Sept 12, 2012 reprint from NYT
Philadelphia Inquirer
New York Times
Boston Globe reprint from NYT

Washington Post reprint from Phil Inquirer
Pittsburg Gazetter reprint from NYT
Sydney Morning Herald reprint NYT
The Independent (UK)
Florida Today

McCormick Place