Joseph Nicholas De Luccio died on Thursday, October 24, 2019 in the company of his beloved family in Raritan Township, NJ. He is survived by his wife, Justine Ann De Luccio, daughter, Justine De Luccio, daughter and son-in-law, Kim and Steve Collins, son and daughter-in-law, Kenneth and Jamie De Luccio, and son, Joseph G. De Luccio, as well as by his grandchildren, Jack and William Collins, and Keira and Kylee De Luccio. Other surviving loved ones include his sister-in-law, Susanne (Purelis) Miller, and her husband, Harry Miller, as well as several extended family members, and many dear friends.

A native of Brooklyn, NY, “Joe” De Luccio was born on June 30, 1942 to the late Louis De Luccio and Lillian (Orlando) De Luccio. Following his marriage to Justine, the couple moved to Nutley, NJ, and later to Vernon and Hardyston, NJ before settling in Raritan Township (Flemington) five years ago.

Joe founded, owned, and operated J. De Luccio & Sons, an independent contracting/construction company based in Vernon, NJ. His tenacious attention to detail and his relentless integrity were the cornerstones of both his craftsmanship and his character.

A lifelong communicant of the Catholic Church, faith was both a formative and enduring part of Joe and Justine’s marriage. It was at a parish educational event in Brooklyn, NY where a sixteen-year-old Joe and a fifteen-year-old Justine Ann Purelis first met. The two joined hands in marriage three years later, on September 2, 1962, at Our Lady of Czestochowa Catholic Church in Brooklyn. Justine credits the couple’s enduring fifty-seven-year union to their authenticity, the balance of their characters, and their persevering love.

Throughout their marriage, Joe remained lovingly devoted to his wife and their four children, Justine, Kim, Ken, and Joe. Attending to them became one of his cherished callings—from the painting of bedroom walls through a spectrum of best-loved colors, to building shelves, backsplashes, and retaining walls in the homes his children purchased as adults, the acts of service Joe meticulously performed for his family occupied him well into his final months.

In recent years, Joe practiced his faith in the parish of St. Magdalen de Pazzi in Flemington as a dedicated and vibrant member of the parish family, and in the community at large as a volunteer for Hope House and a servant of the St. Magdalen Hospital Ministry at Hunterdon Medical Center.

Known as the “family problem solver”, Joe wanted what was best for those around him; he devoted himself to providing his children with knowledge and preparedness for their individual life journeys. He felt pride for the people they grew to become and the families they formed. Joe became a loving ‘Dzia Dzia’ to two granddaughters and two grandsons.

As a lover of pranks and a frequent “jokester”, Joe was appreciated by many for his sense of humor, his “still-funny-on-the-twentieth-telling” jokes, and his contagious laughter.

Joe would want to be remembered as a simple man who lived courageously and loved fiercely: Micah 6, And what does the Lord ask of you? To act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God.

In addition to his parents, Joe is predeceased by his brother, Alfred De Luccio, and brother-in-law, J. Kenneth Purelis, who was killed in action serving in Vietnam.

A Mass of Christian Burial, celebrated by Rev. Kenneth Brighenti, will take place on Monday, October 28, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. in St. Magdalen Catholic Church, 105 Mine Street, Flemington, NJ, under the care and direction of Wright & Ford Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 38 State Highway 31, Flemington, NJ 08822.

The family will receive friends beginning at 10:30 a.m. at the Church.

Inurnment will follow at St. Magdalen Mausoleum, 94 North Main Street, Flemington, NJ.

Please visit Joe’s permanent memorial site at www.wrightfamily.com to light a memorial candle, leave messages of condolence, share words of comfort and recollection, and post photographs of his life.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in his honor may be made to Hunterdon Hospice, 250 State Highway 31, Flemington, NJ 08822 or to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105.

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Wright & Ford, your local, family owned & operated “Life Celebration Home”