Mario C. DeLuca

Mario C. DeLuca, a lifelong resident of Quincy, died peacefully Thursday, Sept. 12, at the Tippett Home in Needham. He was 90 years old and the beloved husband of the late Dina J.(Cellini) DeLuca for 66 years. Born in Quincy, July 11, 1923, he was the loving son of the late Cosmo and Josephine (Ialongo) DeLuca. Mr. DeLuca was a graduate of Quincy High School, Class of 1941. He served in the United States Army in the Philippines during World War II from October 1943 to April 1946 and was decorated with 2 medals and 2 ribbons. He attended the Army Air Force Training School at Scott Field, Ill., where he learned radio operation and repair as well as flight training. He and his brother, Frank, formed DeLuca Brothers Masonry where they worked with his father Cosmo and nephew Matthew as Master Stonemasons. The three generations did much stone and brickwork on the south shore including the Bi-Centennial Braintree Time Capsule in 1976. He retired 26 years ago and focused on his other talents including oil painting and china painting, with many of his works displayed in the South Shore area. He was a member of the Morrisette American Legion Post in Quincy and Local 52 of the Brick and Stone Masons Union now known as the Union of Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers (BAC). He loved hunting, playing chess with his children and grandchildren and spending time with his family at his summer house on Lake Pawtuckaway, in Nottingham, N.H. A consummate jokester, he also loved a free lunch and playing the lottery. He was a longtime volunteer with the Boston Athletic Association and served as an official time-keeper for many years at the Boston Marathon. At the age of 80 he entered the world of technology and enjoyed connecting with his relatives and friends via e-mail and social media. Mr. DeLuca was the loving father of Dana DeLuca and his wife Susan of Westwood, Daryl J. DeLuca of Boston, David DeLuca and his wife Margaret Joyce of Nottingham, N.H., Dina M. DeLuca and her husband Dennis J. Tinney of Quincy and Daniel DeLuca and his wife Emily Lowell of Aurora, Maine. He was the proud grandfather of Michael, Diana, Amy, Danielle, Domenica, Davio, Haley, Laddy, Max, Ruby; and great-grandfather of Drea Mae. He was the dear brother of Doris DeLuca, Fernando DeLuca and the late Armando DeLuca, Janet Coletti, Francis DeLuca and Matthew P. DeLuca. A funeral service will be held at the Bolea-Buonfiglio Funeral Home, 116 Franklin Street, Quincy, Monday, Sept. 16, at 10 a.m. Relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend. Visiting hours will be held Sunday from 4-8 p.m. Interment in Blue Hill Cemetery. Donations may be made in Mr. DeLucas memory to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, 450 Brookline Ave., Boston, MA 02215. boleafuneralservices.com