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3.20.2003
Michael A. Fresolo, 32; Yankees fan and 'real softie'
Michael A. Fresolo was a carpenter and roofer by trade and tradition,
and because of his abundant energy and strong work ethic, buildings he
helped raise dot the Millbury, Mass., area where he grew up.
The tools on the 32-year-old's carpenter's belt also helped build a good
life for his wife, Yvette, and his two little daughters, Emily, 4, and
Maria, who turns 2 this month.
"When we were in the car, he was always pointing out different places,
saying, 'Hey, babe, I did that roof, and that one over there, too,' "
recalls his wife of five years. "He was always very, very proud of
his work."
By all accounts, Michael was a generous, hard-working family man. Arthur
Sisko, a colleague in the Local 107 carpenters' union out of Worcester,
which Michael had belonged to for five years, said he was always ready
to lend a hand to help out a buddy.
"On the day before the Rhode Island fire, he was up on a friend's
roof helping to clean all the snow off," said Sisko. "That's
the kind of a person he was, just a real good guy."
Michael had a bright personality that made him great fun to be around,
except for one inclination that drove some family and friends nuts: he,
a Massachusetts native, was a diehard New York Yankees fan, like his father,
Albert, and he loved ribbing Red Sox fans whenever he got the chance.
"Living in New England, it was sometimes a little difficult, you
know. But Michael, he really got a big kick out of rooting for the Yankees,"
says his wife, smiling at the memory. "He had hats, shirts, everything.
He'd even have the kids going, 'Yankees, yay! Red Sox, boo!' He loved
the New York Giants, too."
Always into sports, Michael took up golf about five years ago and threw
himself into it with his characteristic gusto, playing Sundays with his
brother, Joseph, and several friends at a nearby country club. A toy golf
cart, which he pushed his baby daughters around in, sits in the snow-patched
backyard of his home.
"He took his golf seriously, but he always had the ability to keep
things light, fun and filled with lots of laughs," says golf partner
Robert J. McFadden of Shrewsbury. "Golf can be a frustrating game,
but everybody knew they'd have a good time when they played with him."
Surrounded by photographs of her grinning husband in the family's dining
room, Yvette says simply, he was "one of those people who brightens
up a room."
"On the outside, Michael could seem like he was one of those rough-tough
sort of guys, but he wasn't that at all," Yvette says. "He was
a real softie, and there wasn't anything he wouldn't do for his kids.
I think he's our guardian angel now."
-- David McFadden
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