Nunzio DeFeo

Nunzio DeFeo was born on Easter Sunday, March 27, 1932, to his parents, Eugene and Marie DeFeo, in Williamsburgh, Brooklyn, NY. Nunzio also had a sister, Amelia, who passed in 2012. Born of Italian heritage, Nunzio and his family had close ties to their neighborhood, and a strong sense of community. He grew up nearby to his many cousins, aunts, uncles and friends, where food, laughter and good times were always found in abundance. He spoke fondly of attending Dodger games with his uncle Jimmy and cousin Anthony. Nunzio attended Boy’s High School and enlisted in the U. S. Army shortly thereafter, proudly serving his country for three years. He worked at the family’s business, N. DeFeo Tobacco Company, on Metropolitan Avenue, wholesalers of tobacco products and confections, where he eagerly assisted his parents inside the store and also made deliveries to their many customers. He worked there until it’s closure in 1966. During a brief hiatus between careers, Nunzio decided to fulfill his youthful ambition and enroll at LaGuardia Flying Service, where he obtained his private pilot’s license. He and his wife Dolores kept this surprise tightly under wraps until he received his airman’s certificate. During the early 1970s, Nunzio was a partner in a Piper Cherokee based at Flushing Airport. In 1967, he subsequently began a new career with the New York Telephone Co., working at the Flushing, Elmhurst and Bushwich offices. In 1978, he decided to continue his career at Bell South, working in the Miami and Jupiter offices, where he retired in 2002, a career which spanned thirty-five years. On May 18, 1957, Nunzio married Dolores Picerno, at the Holy Ghost Church of New Hyde Park. They had three children: Eugene, Carla, and Michael. The family grew up on Queensborough Hill in Flushing New York, close to the New York World’s Fair, Shea Stadium and the 1969 Mets, and Queens Botanical Gardens and they frequently biked through Flushing Meadow Park. Nunzio’s interests included electronics and gadgets, aviation, and he could often be observed tinkering beneath the hood of his cars. He also loved to make homemade pizza. His family considered themselves “beach people”, and, from the mid-sixties to the mid-seventies, were members of the Sun and Surf Beach Club in Atlantic Beach, NY. There, they not only shared boundless days of fun, building sand sculptures, exploring the jetty, and combing the beach for shells, they also established several long-lasting friendships with other families. Most notably, Nunzio is remembered for his being neighborly, his outgoing personality, his spontaneity and sense of humor, character traits which he undeniably passed on to all three of his children. In 1979, in Miami, Nunzio met Linda Ayer, a flight attendant for Eastern Airlines, and then, an employee at Jupiter Medical Center. The two began their relationship in 1979, and were wed on August 13, 1988. Early on, Nunzio and Linda fell in love with the Yorkie breed, and together, the two raised and rescued several. They also were proactive in contributing to the various Yorkie rescue foundations. Nunzio and Linda also considered themselves beach enthusiasts, who during their lives together, enjoyed travel to such places as Puerto Vallarta, Saint Maarten and Turks and Caicos. Nunzio served as a board member of the Jupiter Reef Club, where he and Linda often enjoyed their stay as frequent guests. A Mass will be celebrated at St. Jude Catholic Church, 204 N US Highway 1, Tequesta, FL, on Monday, January 16, 2023, 10am, followed by interment at Riverside Memorial Park, 19351 SE County Line Road, Tequesta, FL In lieu of flowers, donations in honor of Nunzio may be made to the Florida Yorkie Rescue or other favorite charity.

Nunzio DeFeo

March 27, 1932 - January 12, 2023