Man Turns Grief into Christmas Joy with New Book That's Raising Money for Cancer Research (Exclusive)
Jimmy Curiazza — whose brother Dean died of cancer shortly before Christmas in 1967 — was determined to make the December holiday merrier for his own children
Courtesy of the Curiazza Family
Jimmy Curiazza with eldest daughter Francesca.Jimmy Curiazza’s Christmas decorations have been the talk of his North Carolina town for years — and this year, he published a book with the hopes of raising even more money for cancer research in honor of his late brother.
Curiazza has a faint memory of the last Christmas he spent with his brother Dean, who died from leukemia at the age of 4. Knowing Dean would not make it to see the actual day, the family celebrated with him shortly before he died on Dec. 5, 1967.
"It changed our whole family dynamic," Curiazza, 58, tells PEOPLE.
Determined to make the December holiday merrier for his own children, Curiazza always made it special — and in 2011, he turned his Gibsonville home into a musical Christmas lights extravaganza in honor of Dean.
Courtesy of the Curiazza Family
Dean Curiazza, who died of leukemia Dec. 5, 1967.Donations poured in from people who wanted to contribute, raising upwards of $20,000 for leukemia and lymphoma charities in the past 12 years.
This year, he's taking it a step further by publishing The Workshop, a charming Christmas book. Proceeds will benefit the Duke Children Pediatric Cancer Foundation at Duke University, where Curiazza works as a mechanical systems/plumbing supervisor.
Along the way, Curiazza is making his daughter Francesca, 26, proud.
“My dad has always been Christmas spirit-y, but he just threw himself out there with this, and it ended up being this uplifting, super sweet book,” Francesca tells PEOPLE. “I’m super proud of him, and it’s beautiful that he’s donating everything to Duke's children’s cancer fund.”
Courtesy of the Curiazza Family
Jimmy Curiazza with his novella, “The Workshop.”Related: Students Surprise Teacher Who Has Cancer by Christmas Caroling in Her Yard
The novella — which centers on a man who wakes up in a hospital bed after an accident and tells his life story to his nurse — dips into Curiazza’s own childhood memories and shows how the joy of Christmas can be healing for families.
“I believe in the Christmas spirit. I think Christmas time brings out the best in people and me in particular,” Curiazza says. “I just light up that time of year and enjoy seeing the good in people.”
Courtesy of the Curiazza Family
Jimmy Curiazza with daughter Gianna and son Santino.Originally, the father of three just wanted to write about his childhood for his children, but once he wrote it and presented the tale to his family last year, they encouraged him to publish it.
“I think it’s hard to celebrate a holiday when you [lose] one of your kids around the same time, so he didn’t get to experience the joy of Christmas,” Francesca says. “I’m sure his Christmases weren’t terrible, but it’s hard to find joy when you’re struck by [loss]."
Courtesy of the Curiazza Family
Tracy and Jimmy Curiazza.Curiazza, one of five siblings, says that the impact his brother's illness had on his family can be seen in their videos and photos. Documenting their memories together became less frequent around the time his brother was born when his parents first suspected something was wrong with Dean.
“Our family was kind of broken at that point, and it never got better for them or for us,” Curiazza says of his parents, who later divorced. “I figured that was the norm and never knew any better.”
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That changed when Curiazza met and married his wife Tracy in 1988. With her encouragement, he began to open up emotionally.
“I had to dig deep and backtrack to make a change,” Curiazza says.
Francesca says her dad never had conversations about Dean when she was little, but that changed when he started doing the Christmas light shows dedicated to his late brother.
Courtesy of the Curiazza Family
Jimmy Curiazza.Related: 'Proud' Dad Doesn’t Let Cancer Stop Him from Escorting Daughter as She’s Crowned Homecoming Queen
She says she’s proud of the family lighting project, which has brought joy to people in the community.
“Whenever I would Uber to my house or have people drive me to the house, they would all say, 'You’re the house with all the crazy Christmas lights!'" Francesca says. “Yep, my dad loves Christmas.”
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