Del E. Lucent

Del E. Lucent, 88, a resident of Duryea, died Thursday, June 2, 2011.

He was born in the Borough of Queens, New York City, son of the late Emanuel Lucent and Anna Lucent-Solano.

During World War II, he served from 1942-1946, as a private first class, airplane engine mechanic with the 864th Bombardment Squadron of the 494th Bombardment Group of the U.S. Army Air Force, stationed in the Philippines. He proudly served and had participated in air offensives in Japan, the Eastern Mandates, Luzon, Ryukyus, Southern Philippines, and the Western Pacific. He received the American Service Medal, the Asiatic Pacific Service Medal, the Good Conduct Medal and the World War II Victory Medal during his military service.

He met his wife, the former Gertrude DeForte, in 1939 and they were married in 1946 in the former St. James Episcopal Church, Pittston. Mr. Lucent had served on the vestry of St. James Church and was currently a faithful member of Holy Cross Episcopal Church, Wilkes-Barre.

Del had been a member of the San Cataldo Society, Pittston, for 65 years and was an avid New York Yankees fan. Most of his working life, Mr. Lucent had been a jacquard loom weaver in the textile trades and had retired in 1988 from Hyrade Pants Co., Taylor, where he had worked for more than 20 years. He was also a member of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers Union.

He enjoyed his family immensely and they loved to hear his stories.

Mr. Lucent was preceded n death by a brother, Remo Lucent; stepbrothers, Joseph and Fred Solano; and by a stepsister, Ann Marie Argento.

Surviving are his wife of almost 65 years, Gertrude DeForte Lucent, at home; son, Michael Lucent and his wife, Donna, Dundee, N.Y.; daughter-in-law, Renie Lucent, Pittston; grandson, Del M. Lucent and his wife, Holly; granddaughter, Selena Lucent-George and her husband, Francis J. George; great-grandson, Adrian Lucent George; a sister, Adeline Starna, Long Island, N.Y.; stepbrother, Francis Solano; stepsisters, Rosarie Lewis and Rita Zangardi, all of Pittston; and many beloved nieces and nephews in Pittston and Long Island, N.Y.

Funeral services will be held at 9:15 a.m. Monday from H. Merritt Hughes Funeral Home Inc., 211 Luzerne Ave., West Pittston, with Burial Office and Requiem Mass at 10 a.m. in Holy Cross Episcopal Church, Wilkes-Barre. The Rev. Timothy Alleman, rector, will be the celebrant. Interment will be in Pittston Cemetery. Friends may call from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday. A vigil service will be conducted at 4:30 p.m. Sunday by the Rev. Alleman.

The family requests that flowers be omitted and that memorial donations be made to Holy Cross Episcopal Church, 373 N. Main St., Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702; or to a charity of the donor's choice.