Nicholas Fasano, of Melrose, died peacefully in his home surrounded by his family on October 26, 2025. He was 87 years young.

Born in Saugus, Nick was the elder son of Margaret (Coscia) and Nicholas A. Fasano. When he was two, he and his parents moved to a triple decker in Chelsea, where his brother William was born, to help manage the family florist business. They returned to Saugus when Nick was in fifth grade and lived with his grandmother while they completed their own home around the corner. By then Nick was in high school, where he met Lola Pizzotti, who moved to Saugus in tenth grade and joined his tight knit group of friends. Lola was the love of his life, and the high school sweethearts married on Nick's 25th birthday in 1963.

Nick and Lola soon started a family and moved to Melrose, and their three children were the center of their universe. They bought a tiny summer cottage on the Cape in Mashpee and packed it with family and friends. Later, they bought a bigger home in Cotuit, and soon it was bursting with grandchildren, with whom he had a special bond. Gathering his entire family under one roof for a fun-filled weekend was Nick's idea of heaven. Over the years, the family traveled to several spots in the Caribbean, to California and to Italy, but being together was always more important than the location.

Nick apprenticed at General Electric right out of high school, proudly served for six years in the Army reserves, and attended night school at Northeastern University, earning a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 1971. He then worked at Bell Labs, Honeywell, Cambridge Memories, Wang Labs, Modicon, and finally at Schneider Electric, as Director of Advanced Manufacturing Engineering, consistently advancing, traveling the world, and collecting lifelong friends.

Nick loved being busy and was full of fun. He always had a project in the house or the yard. He worked part-time after retirement, and after Lola's passing in 2021, continued his weekly watercolor classes at the Senior Center, volunteered locally, and picked up golf, playing regularly with his best friend, Jack. In his youth, Nick was an avid skier, and he would ski when he could on work trips as well. He played the clarinet and the saxophone in high school and in a band called the Merry Makers. He also picked up the ukulele, and he revisited that instrument later in life, playing and going to concerts. He marked birthdays and anniversaries with hand painted cards, told terrible jokes, pulled endless pranks, and made friends wherever he went. His oldest friends were his closest friends, but every stranger was a friend in the making.

Nick was the devoted husband of Lola Fasano, who predeceased him in 2021, after 57 years of marriage and adventure. He was the beloved father of Lea Fasano and her husband Evan Zahner of Melrose, Dana Sullivan and her former husband Michael of Melrose, and Nicholas Fasano and his wife Kathleen Hughes of Manhattan Beach, CA. He was the proudest and most amazing Poppa to his cherished grandchildren: Zachary, Cameron, Emery, Kelsey, Aidan, Lola, and Maelie. Nick was predeceased by his loving parents and brother Bill, and by Lola's parents and siblings and their spouses, whom Nick considered to be his siblings too. He will be dearly missed by so many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

Family and friends are invited to gather for visiting hours at the Gately Funeral Home, 79 W. Foster St., Melrose, on Thursday, November 13th from 4:00pm-8:00pm. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Mary of the Annunciation Church, 4 Herbert St., Melrose, on Friday, November 14th at 10:00am, followed by interment at Wyoming Cemetery, 205 Sylvan St., Melrose.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Nick's name may be made to the Melrose Council on Aging, 235 W. Foster St., Melrose, MA 02176.