Fund-raising effort under way for long-time Cape resident who lost uninsured home to fire
A house fire in Cape Coral last Friday has left a man who gave his all to the city without a home to call his own.
Joe Koza, a 94-year-old Navy veteran, lost the house he built with his own two hands in the southeast Cape when an electrical fire in the garage involving the fuse box ignited, leaving the house uninhabitable. Thankfully, Koza was near his back door and a good Samaritan nearby noticed the flames and guided him away before the Cape Coral Fire Department extinguished the blaze.
The name Koza may ring a bell for residents, as the city named Koza-Saladino Park after him and fellow long-time area baseball coach, Vincent Saladino, in 1993. The park is located in the southwest Cape and is home to four lighted Little League fields.
Koza is now staying with his son Jeff and his family. Unfortunately, Koza did not have homeowners insurance and is now without funds to help start over in a place he figured he’d be forever. A close family friend has started a Go Fund Me page for the family and they have been overwhelmed with the response thus far ($13,000-plus raised as of Thursday afternoon).
“We’re trying to raise money because he really wants to rebuild,” said Koza’s son Jeff, one of four brothers. “He built that house in 1972 himself and really wanted that house to be the house he stayed in forever. That’s now not the case.”
Jeff said his father is a proud man who would rather give than receive, but is very thankful for the outpouring of support during a devastating time.
“Before we knew it, it started to spread and brought out the community,” Jeff said. “I have friends I haven’t talked to in years who are calling to ask about my dad asking what they can do to help. It’s amazing to see. You think maybe they don’t remember your father, but they do.”
Koza moved with his family to Cape Coral in 1966 and started one of the first lawn care services in a not-yet-incorporated community. He drove school buses for some time and eventually became the coordinator for Lee County Transit, where he spent a decade.
Koza played an instrumental role in getting Little League started in Cape Coral, as well as other youth sports such as Pop Warner football. He made sure all of the fields were manicured and spent many years as a baseball coach (alongside Saladino) and umpire. He could often be found at Jason Verdow Memorial Park, home to the Cape Coral National Little League program and the oldest baseball field in the city. In 2014, the Koza family was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from Cape Coral Little League for all he and his family had done over the decades.
“They were instrumental in a lot of young kid’s lives,” said Jeff, who served as Cape Coral Little League President for six years. “They used to be hard on them back then, and they see my dad now and thank him for coaching the way he did. He was a very influential person with the youth programs in the city.”
You’d often see Koza’s wife Terry working the concession stands or organizing fundraising events. She passed in 2008.
Koza is still a sharp mind and gets around just fine, said Jeff, occasionally with the assistance of a walker, but is going strong.
The house is set to be torn down (free of charge thanks to a caring friend) due to smoke and water damage, with hopes from the family that a new day will rise from the ashes.
“I think it will give him a better quality of life if he knows something is to be built back on the land he’s had his house on for decades,” Jeff said.
To contribute to the Koza’s Go Fund Me, click here.
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