Thursday, June 16, 2022
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Joe DeLuca was one-of-a kind! He was a born-and-bred New Yorker who didn’t suffer fools gladly; but he was a man with a keen sense of humor and spring-loaded to let out a hearty laugh that got everyone else laughing. He was a real character who kept one foot firmly planted on the lower east side of Manhattan with the other stepping into Caribbean adventures with the love of his life, Evelyn. “You only get one life,” Joe said, and together they lived it to the fullest. Years later he looked back on that time with some amusement that a regular guy from a fourth-floor walkup on 11th Street could take himself to such exotic places. No doubt Joe is still living that best life without time for what-ifs or regrets. I knew Joe my whole life. He was my second cousin. My father Hank was Joe’s first cousin. Joe’s mother and my paternal grandmother were sisters — Ann and Lena. While Lena died far too young, I do remember ‘Aunt Anna’ from our family visits. One visit that is especially memorable is the time Aunt Anna took me to Coney Island by subway. So exciting! Joe back then was living with his wife and son in Brooklyn. From that time as a young boy I remember his swagger and that larger-than-life personality. Joe was all-Sicilian (both sides!) and when he walked down the street you knew it. Coming from my side of the family — tempered as we were with German blood and less excitable — Joe seemed like a real New York character. All of that was half a century ago. In the intervening decades Joe divorced and remarried and divorced again. Then he found his love at last — and in Evelyn found a traveling companion too. Cruises and yacht charters, Key West and the islands…Joe was an incurable romantic who loved to chase the setting sun. In later years Joe and Evelyn went their separate ways but they always kept in touch — every single day they talked — and today they rest alongside each other. Joe is survived by his sister Linda and her husband, Vosh, and their son John. From an earlier marriage Joe is survived by wife Georgia and son Joseph. Joe you were an American original. We will miss you!
