It’s a full house for Dominic Dipuccio ’82 and his wife, Julie. The couple is raising six kids.

 

“Having a big family is crazy, busy, loud, challenging, everything you could imagine,” DiPuccio says. “The biggest challenge is finding the time to ensure that all the kids get the attention they need. And frankly, there isn’t enough time. I do think we’ve made the best of it. They work hard in school, in sports, they’re decent human beings.”

 

While DiPuccio works full-time as a business attorney in Cleveland, Julie manages things like homework and coordinating the kids’ hectic schedules. The older kids in the family help the younger ones, too, pitching in however they can.

 

“We’re a very close family,” says DiPuccio, who has four kids with Julie and adopted two of his sister’s kids after she passed away. “Our kids have had to grow up faster than we would have hoped. I think we’ve maintained a positive attitude about it. My wife and I always try to stay positive throughout everything.”

 

With six kids, it’s impossible for DiPuccio to make it to every game, but he stays as active in his kids’ lives as he can by coaching baseball in the summer and basketball in the winter. Right now he coaches his youngest son, Michael.

 

“All six of my kids play basketball, so we have well over 100 basketball games in a season,” DiPuccio says. “I try to make it to as many games as I can. We try to eat together, but it’s impossible to do all the time because everyone has a practice or a music lesson.”

 

When DiPuccio is not spending time with his family, he works at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP in Cleveland, handling mergers and acquisitions. His busy practice often has him working around the clock for his clients. He also sits on Gilmour’s Board of Trustees and volunteers as a mentor for Gilmour’s entrepreneurship program.

 

“I love the place,” DiPuccio says of Gilmour. “Gilmour really opened my eyes as to how limitless my potential was. It gave me a sense of confidence. It put me on a path that helped me become who I am today, and as a board member and alum, I encourage people to give back and get involved.”

 

During the trials and tribulations of his life, Gilmour rallied around DiPuccio. He and his family have felt the support of people like Kathy Kenny, Brother Robert Lavelle, Tiho Teisl and Rich Grejtak, all of whom have left a lasting impact on DiPuccio.

 

“They’re special people who have devoted their lives to others,” DiPuccio says. “That’s what I want my kids to do. I want my kids to succeed, but never at the expense of other people.”

 

We communicate well about all matters affecting the children. We process our decisions together. We stay true to our parenting convictions, even when it’s not popular.

Perseverance, a positive attitude, strength in conviction, compassion for others and faith in God.

 

Our oldest son is Dominic ’14, a junior at Xavier University. We have a son Mathew ’17, who is a senior at Gilmour. We have two Gilmour sophomores, Sophia ’19 and Armand ’19. Lena ’20 is a freshman at Gilmour, and Michael is in seventh grade at St. Francis.

 

That they appreciate the value of family, and I am certain they do.

 

We have leaned on the Lord as much as we can. Having a strong sense of faith is important for Julie and me. You need that moral core and faith in God to get through the day. There’s a lot of stuff that is beyond our control, and you have to have the ability to let it go, trust in God and believe it’s all going to be OK.