With the Humanities Institute, we honor Greg's lifelong quest for learning and for meaningful human connection.
The man for whom the Grappone Humanities Institute is named was himself a model of the examined life that Socrates said was the only one worth living. Greg was young man of insatiable intellectual curiosity, a deep love of books, and a persistent engagement with the great ideas that have informed human existence. A resident of Concord, New Hampshire, he graduated from Saint Anselm College in 2004 as a Great Books major.
Great Books were not just the foundation of Greg’s education, they were his steadfast life companions. He relished the stories they told, the wisdom they proffered, the challenges they presented, the conversations they provoked, and the love they encouraged. After a heroic struggle with cancer, Greg’s life was cut sadly short when he succumbed to his illness at only 35 years old, leaving behind a young daughter and a heartbroken circle of family and friends. Greg spent his life appreciating and seeking to understand life and the world around him. He is remembered fondly by his teachers at Saint Anselm who recall a young man who was typically quiet, but whose intellectual gears were always turning, and whose depth of curiosity and understanding shone forth when he spoke.
Greg cared deeply about cultural and social issues, politics, and the environment. He constantly scouted for new music, movies, books and television. He was kind, humble, and to the many who relished his company, just plain cool. Like his mother, he loved nothing more than entertaining and cooking for friends and family. And like his father, he enjoyed philosophical discussions. In honor of their son and in commemoration of the good and great books and wisdom-filled conversations that were at the heart of Greg’s life, his parents Robert and Beverly Grappone established the Gregory J. Grappone Humanities Institute at Saint Anselm in 2018.