Julius Neapolitan, 80, a World War II veteran, tennis instructor and avid horse track gambler, died Wednesday, July 12, of heart failure in La Grange Memorial Hospital. Mr. Neapolitan had a host of jobs during his life, from postal clerk to a factory worker to his 13 years as an instructor at the Oak Brook Park District tennis club. But most important to him were his many hobbies, said his son, Richard. “He loved sports, but he was especially good at handicapping racehorses,” his son said. “It’s hard to know if a winner is just lucky or plain good, but my dad was too good to be lucky.” Mr. Neapolitan studied a racehorse’s every attribute to make a studied opinion on whether it was worth its salt. “It was a science to him,” his son said. During World War II, Mr. Neapolitan was an Army Air Forces mechanic in Texas, where he met his wife, Novie. They married in 1942 and spent almost 50 years together. She died of bone cancer in 1991. Mr. Neapolitan had spent more than two years standing by her each minute, nursing her back to health, his son said. “He was strict and gruff and had the quirkiest personality, but sometimes he showed this soft side that made him Dad,” he said. Mr. Neapolitan also is survived by another son, Jerry; a daughter, Adele Crowe; a brother, Bill; a sister, Marie Caputo; and six grandchildren. Visitation will be from 3 to 8 p.m. Friday in Hitzeman Funeral Home, 9445 W. 31st St., Brookfield. A service will follow at 8 p.m. in the funeral home.
