Resident Spotlight

A South Shore Family Shares Deep Roots With The Benchmark Community

For nearly 70 years, South Shore and Cape Cod residents have counted on a local family to get where they need to go. The signs that grace many iconic area businesses can be credited to the artistry of the late Guy Caggiano and the Plymouth Sign Company, which he cofounded in 1955.

Guy and his wife, Vicky, met when they were in their early 20s at a dance hall in Brockton while he was on leave from the Navy. They found themselves slow dancing together at a Paul Jones mixer to the Joe Pioppi Band’s rendition of Sinatra’s Strangers in the Night.

“Even though we were supposed to change partners, we never did,” says Vicky.

After a friend of his said, “you better ask her on a date or I will,” the rest was history.

For 49 years, the couple continued dancing and traveled the world to places like Alaska, Aruba and Italy. Together with his brother, George, Guy built a burgeoning sign business while she took care of their Plymouth home and independently pursued passions for fitness and fashion. “They were madly in love. He really doted on her,” says her niece, Nancy Brown, the daughter of Vicky’s late sister, Doris Roncarati.

In 2001, Guy passed away. Although Vicky missed him terribly, she was committed to reinventing her life as a single woman — keeping busy with an active social life, continuing to travel and maintaining her home with Nancy and George looking after her.

In 2013, Doris developed early-stage dementia, so she moved into Benchmark

Senior Living at Plymouth Crossings for a safer environment and more support. For four years, Vicky, Nancy and the rest of the family became fixtures at Plymouth Crossings — celebrating birthdays and other holidays.

A few years before Doris passed, in 2015, Vicky began experiencing her own health challenges. “Come to find out she had fallen several times, and we weren’t finding out until later,” says Nancy. “We eventually had someone coming in to help her at home, but she wasn’t happy. She was lost not being able to drive and wasn’t keeping up the house like she always did. She just wasn’t herself.”

Together the family decided Vicky would have more independence at Plymouth Crossings, so they moved her into the comfort and familiarity of the same apartment where Doris resided.

“The entire staff took such great care of my mom that we never considered anyplace else,” says Nancy. “They are so kind and go out of their way to accommodate you and make you feel comfortable. The Hanover area will be lucky to have Benchmark as a resource.”

Over the last three years at Plymouth Crossings, Vicky has been able to maintain her independence while returning to her social self. Vicky has made new friends and enjoys social hour, entertainment, and, most of all, the company of the staff. Benchmark at Hanover residents will enjoy the same types of experiences.

“I love the people here. From Joannie who makes my bed just the way I like it and the servers who know my tastes, I love all of them,” says Vicky. She added that Plymouth Crossings’ former Executive Director Fatima Feliciano is “a doll” and helped her get settled in her new home. Fatima is now the executive director of Benchmark at Hanover, which is scheduled to open this summer.