Philippo DeLuca

Philippo was born on May 22, 1927 in Coaldale Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. He was the youngest of 3 children born to Elvira Caterra ­DeLuca and Fillipo DeLuca Sr. His mother and father were born in Italy but had come to America for the coal mining opportunity in the small town of Coaldale outside of Allentown. At the age of 4, the DeLuca family relocated to the town of Roseto degli Abruzzi. Roseto degli Abruzzi, more commonly Roseto, is a town and comune of the province of Teramo in the Abruzzo region of central Italy. It is a beach resort on the Adriatic Sea and has about 24,000 inhabitants. There, he and his sisters Angela and Eva grew up. After World War II, Philippo, as many others in Italy, came to America for an opportunity for a better life. At the age of 22 in 1949, he came to Ellis Island, alone, with only 1 dollar in his pocket. He soon began to work doing any odd job he could find. He began to learn the craft of a stonemason which is someone who takes rough pieces of rock or stone, and shapes them into geometric shapes in order to create a structure and/or a work of art. These structures can include monuments, buildings, cathedrals, tombstones, etc. Philippo’s goal was to make enough money to support himself and then buy a home for his parents to reunite with him in America. He worked very hard saving his money and soon was able to purchase a home on Pratt Street in the Frankford section of Philadelphia. His mother and father then came to America in the 1950s. Philippo loved American cars and was enjoying the work opportunities he had found in America. He often talked about the dance clubs he would frequent and his passion for dancing and enjoying himself. He always made sure he worked, saved money and took care of his parents. Philippo was content but knew at some point he would have to settle down to have a family of his own. In 1960, he met Carmella Guidetti from South Philadelphia. After 4 years of an “on again off again” romance the two became engaged and on October 30, 1965 the two were married in what was considered a huge wedding and celebration at that time. Philippo and Carmella honeymooned in Italy for 3 months and by July the following year, had their first child, Elvera. Living on Pratt Street with his mother and father, Philippo continued to work hard at a local tractor trailer manufacturer called Strick Trailers. He worked hard and also did “side jobs” when he could. In August 1967, Philippo and Carmella had their second child, Phillip, and began looking for a home of their own. In 1968, Philippo and Carmella purchased a home on Shelmire Street in the Bustleton section of Philadelphia as they were now expecting their 3rd child, Henry, who was born September 1969. It was very important to Philippo and Carmella that their children know Jesus, so they were all baptized at St. Martin’s in Frankford and then attend Catholic School. Philippo and Carmella had a dream to build a home for their family so in 1973, they purchased land on Verree Road in Northeast Philadelphia. Philippo began construction on weekends, vacations and after work. In 1975, Phillipo was laid off from his high paying manufacturing job at Strick Trailers, as many Americans faced this in 1970s. He did manual labor jobs and whatever side work he could find to make sure he could complete their dream home project on Verree Road. Despite many setbacks, in July of 1976, Philippo and his family moved into the home he and Carmella had built for his family. The children attended St. Albert The Great School and Archbishop Ryan High School which gave them the Christian upbringing that is the foundation of their lives. The friends that his children were able to meet have turned out to be lifelong brothers and sisters. The Cunninghams, who lived 2 doors away on Verree Road were very close with both Henry and Phillip and are considered family. In 1987, Philippo returned to Italy with his 20-year-old son, Phillip, for a 3-week vacation. It was the first time he taken a vacation and had not been back to Roseto since his honeymoon 23 years ago. He and his son enjoyed that trip and would always remember that as a special time. In the 1980s and 1990’s Philippo was able to find work at J.D. Lonergrams and then with the City of Philadelphia as a stonemason for Fairmount Park. Philippo’s work can be seen throughout Fairmount Park and what is now the Please Touch Museum. His stonework, steps, patios, and sidewalks are scattered throughout the Philadelphia area. If anyone ever needed any kind of cement work, he was always there to give you the best price and the highest quality of work. If you were family, he would do home improvements as a token of love. He believed in doing the job the best way with no short cuts. He saved his money and always provided for his family first and was always well prepared. Philippo would say, “Work hard, save your money.” In 1990 Philippo and Carmella returned to Italy for a 3-week vacation and that was a memorable time for the two of them as they celebrated 25 years of marriage. Philippo retired from the City of Philadelphia in 1994 where he then focused on side jobs and his new-found interest in real estate. He now learned from his son Henry and they began to purchase and rehabilitate properties. His children were grown up and successful and he and Carmella were enjoying the fruits of their labor. In 1998 Philippo’s daughter, Elvira, was married and his first grand children were born Joseph and Rachel. Henry would also give him another grandchild, Anthony in 2002. Philippo was enjoying retirement, real estate, working on his terms and enjoying himself. In 2001, Philippo was diagnosed with a closing heart valve. He would have died if his children had not convinced him to have heart surgery. The heart that was always strong in work was failing and was causing him issues. After successful surgery, it was as if he was rejuvenated with new strength and passion. Philippo took care of his ailing wife, Carmella, in the late 1990s as she suffered from diabetes and was on dialysis for several years. Carmella finally succumbed to complications on August 8th of 2004. Philippo was never the same, as his lifelong partner and love of his life was no longer around. He lived on Verree Road alone until his death in 2018 but he missed her every day Philippo was then blessed with 3 more grandchildren from his son Phillip. Josiah was born in 2008 and then the twins, Luke and Asa, were born in 2009. Philippo returned to Italy and traveled well into his eighties and continued to work manual labor jobs on his properties often times defying logic. At the age of 88 he was witnessed and photoed climbing a 40-foot ladder and working on a roof. He was also seen swinging a sledge hammer, breaking concrete, and cementing his own sidewalk block on Veree Road, at the age of 88. Philippo had a knee operation at the age of 87 because he wanted to keep dancing. At 88 Philippo had several mini strokes and had a series of falls but he never realized he had a stroke. Unfortunately, he suffered a broken neck in February of 2015 that set him back with physical mobility but he rehabilitated his neck and was back to walking and moving around within a year. Philippo, Junior, Dad, Daddy, PopPop did many things to help his family and friends and like a stonemason, molded the loved ones around him to be his work of art. He lived simply but loved his cars and he was known to say, “I just want to leave this to my kids.” If you knew him and he loved you, he probably yelled at you and got you mad but if you needed him, he would be the first in line to help and ask nothing in return. In July of 2018 he was diagnosed with a severe hernia, kidney failure, and heart failure… but he was far from a failure. His sons were there for him the last month of his life to thank him for the sacrifices he had made for them. On August 15, 2018, Philippo went home to God and was reunited with his wife Camilla, friends and family. It will be difficult to imagine a world without Philippo DeLuca, but his family will continue his legacy and pass down the value of hard work, dedication, and resilience. Job well done!