Philip Joseph Castrogiovanni

Phil was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Anthony Castrogiovanni and Mary Castrogiovanni (née Annerino). He had three siblings who all pre-deceased him: an older sister, Mary, and two younger brothers, Tony and Richard. Phil met Ann Amodeo, they fell in love, and were married on September 15, 1962. Not long thereafter, they embarked on their life's adventure and moved from Chicago to San Jose, California along with Ann's first cousin and their good friend Ray "Ollie" Donato. The trio unanimously cited their move to California as "one of the best decisions they ever made".

Phil and Ann established their family in San Jose but spent the majority of their years in Campbell. They were active members of St. Lucy's Parish and School where they made many friends and happily contributed their time and talents. Phil found meaning in donating his time to the school and greater parish community and always made time to help with projects, whether big or small. He and Mike Guerra founded the St. Lucy's Parish Carnival in 1988, which exists to this day.

Phil loved working in his garden. In the summer, he grew tomatoes, squash, peppers, and apricots. He eagerly awaited the maturation of a fig tree that Michael planted, and was fortunate to sample its early offerings before he passed. In the early fall, he harvested apples from his tree, and in the early winter he pursued one of his greatest passions: harvesting, eating and preserving persimmons. Phil loved nothing more than preparing and sharing with guests sausage and pepper sandwiches; the fresher the peppers, the better.

Phil also took great pleasure in his Sicilian-American culture, regularly attending local Italian- and Sicilian-American festivals throughout the Bay Area. He immensely enjoyed a trip to Sicily a number of years back for a family wedding, and regularly recalled the fresh pasta. Phil was famous for scouring cities he visited to find whatever delectable he happened to crave, ranging from lupini beans, to braciole, to melanzane, to breaded veal, but above all he prized an excellent cannoli and a cup of coffee.

Phil's greatest joy in life was spending time with family and friends. Although Phil and Ann left Chicago at an early age, Phil cherished the nieces and nephews he left behind, he looked forward to hearing from them and seeing them when he could, and he remembered them fondly throughout his life and as he approached death. He likewise enjoyed his nieces and nephews in California, reflected that he was both fortunate and happy to have them in his life, and exalted in any occasion when the family was all together.

Phil loved both of his sons, and took every opportunity he could to spend time with them when they were growing up. He made it a priority to be there to support the boys in anything they pursued, whether it was school, clubs, sports or other activities. Phil also loved his grandchildren immensely, and basked in any opportunity to spend time with them and hear about them and their lives. He expressed pride in them before he passed and wanted them to know that he loves and misses them.

Phil retired from IBM after 25 years in 1999. He had an enjoyable career working at IBM, traveling to far flung places such as Fresno and Sweden, and he made many friends while working there. He also helped his nephew Angelo establish his deli, delighting in the opportunity to interact and joke with colleagues and deli customers.

Phil is survived by his wife, Ann, their sons Phil and Michael, his daughter-in-law, Tanya, and soon-to-be daughter-in-law, Brittany, his three grandchildren: Nicholas, Kate, and Andrew, and a host of nieces and nephews, grand nieces and nephews, and great grand nieces and nephews.