BJ Cirnigliaro always knew how to brighten up a room.
She had a way with words, an outgoing personality and an infectious smile, her friends and coworkers said.
She worked hard both as a mother and as the senior vice president at one of the state’s top title companies.
Even when was in a bad mood, “she could turn that off in a second and just had this Cheshire Cat smile,” her good friend Lisa Capicchioni said. Cirnigliaro’s smile could turn any bad moment into a good one, Capicchioni said.
Cirnigliaro, a longtime resident of Dunbarton who relocated to Goffstown and then the Seacoast, died unexpectedly last year at the age of 50. To honor her memory, Matt Neuman, the owner of Absolute Title created the BJ Cirnigliaro Memorial Fund, administered by the NH Charitable Foundation, and seeded it with $125,000.
“Absolute Title would not be what it is, if it was not for her and her contributions,” Neuman said. “Her contributions go so far beyond just the business standpoint, her personality, her demeanor, she was just a wonderful, wonderful person with a tremendous heart and that showed through in everything that she did. And I’ve said it 100 times that she absolutely was the soul of our company.”
Cirnigliaro, whose full name was Barbara Jo, was one of the company’s first employees and as senior vice president, she was in charge of opening the company’s Portsmouth office in 2019. Absolute Title also has offices in Concord and Bedford.
Proceeds from the memorial fund will be awarded annually to support causes that were meaningful to her, including animal shelters and humane societies, LGBTQ support, suicide prevention programs and home ownership organizations. Capicchioni and Neuman are both part of the five-person council that will to decide where to allocate the funds each year.
Cirnigliaro loved gardening in her free time and going on hikes and spending time in nature, Capicchioni said.
Above all else, Cirnigliaro was proud to be a good mother, Capicchioni said.
“She would continually say her greatest achievement in life was being a mom and what great joy it brought to her heart,” her obituary read.
For Neuman, the loss has been felt professionally and personally as well. Neuman worked with Cirnigliaro for close to 20 years. They exchanged stories about their families and became good friends.
“The smile on her face when she walked into any room, any closing, it truly just took over the room and lit it up,” Neuman said. “Just an amazing woman with an amazing heart and cared for everybody.”
Capicchioni and Cirnigliaro both loved golfing together as well. Capicchioni, a loan officer at Residential Mortgage Services, envisions a golf tournament fundraiser to benefit the memorial fund.
“I know that many people in our industry look forward to golf tournaments,” Capicchioni said.
Neuman’s goal is to see the fund distributing at least $10,000 annually, if not more. And as donations continue to come in, Neuman hopes to increase the awards.
“I would like it to go on in perpetuity,” Neuman said.
The fund will help Cirnigliaro’s memory alive and support others in need.
“For me, after she passed, it was so important that we maintain her legacy,” Neuman said. “The title industry is a small unique industry, and somebody like her only comes through once in a millennium. I don’t want her forgotten.”