Nicola DiRito

1927 - 2019

Nicola DiRito

New Castle - Nicola DiRito of New Castle, DE passed away peacefully on May 7th, 2019 after a brief illness. Nicola was born June 1, 1927 to late Domenico DiRito and Concetta Caprara in the small mountainous town of Lama dei Peligni, Chieti, in Abruzzo, Italy.

During WWII and at the age 14, he was the youngest member of the "Brigata Maiella", a partisan group, whose job was to harass the Germans in Lama and surrounding area. The Germans were finally forced to pull out after having destroyed 90% of the town. Nicola attained the rank of Corporal and was in charge of guarding the German prisoners of war.

He immigrated to Wilmington, DE. in 1956 and was later joined there by his wife, Anna, in 1958. For a short while he worked as a cement finisher and later as a welder for Abex Amsco Division in New Castle. He worked there for 30 years. He moves to New Castle in 1960 where he enjoyed spending time with his many friends and gardening. He was an avid writer and loved writing poems about his experiences as an immigrant. One of his many poems was inscribed on a monument dedicated to all the immigrants located in his hometown of Lama dei Peligni. He was a lifelong member of Holy Spirit Catholic Church.

He was predeceased by his parents, his brother, Luigi DiRito and his sister, Giovanina Covelli, both of Wilmington and his step-brother, Antonio DiRito of Italy. He will be greatly missed by his beloved wife, Anna (Masciarelli) as well as Laila Lawson and her sister, Shiva, who thought of him as a grandfather. He is also survived by his sister-in-law, Anna DiRito of Wilmington; his nephew, John DiRito and wife, Pasqualina, of North Carolina, as well as nieces and nephews both here and in Italy.

Thank you to all his friends and neighbors, to Mike and Jerry Morgan and their families who helped him in his later years, to the doctors and nurses at Christiana and especially Maria Grazia Finamore and Diana Hoopes, longtime family friends and caregivers.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held 11am at Holy Spirit Catholic Church, 12 Winder Rd, New Castle, DE 19720 on Tuesday, May 14th 2019. Visitation will begin at 10am.

Charles P. Arcaro Funeral Home, 302-658-9095.