John Joseph DiNucci

John Joseph Di Nucci, 91, son of Anthony J. Di Nucci and Gaetana Raffoni and widower of the late Mary Ellen Di Nucci (deceased May 7, 2010), died peacefully, surrounded by his family, on January 22, 2015 in Arlington, Virginia after a life of devotion and service to God, country and family.

John graduated from the prestigious Stuyvesant High School in New York City at the age of 16 in 1939, and in May 1943 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from Manhattan College. He was a member of the track and field team (sprinter and long-jumper) in high school and in his first college year (when Manhattan College had a leading U.S collegiate track team).

After graduating from Manhattan, John briefly worked for Curtiss-Wright Aircraft Corp. in Buffalo, New York. In August 1943, he enlisted in the United States Navy and completed boot camp at the Naval Training Station in Sampson, New York. He served for 20 months as an electronics technician’s mate aboard the U.S.S. Breeman (DE-104), an anti-submarine destroyer escort, part of a hunter-killer group that sunk a number of Nazi U-Boats. During his service, he got an opportunity to see the world, including the Azores, Tunisia (Bizerte), Morocco (Casablanca), Dakar, Senegal, and Iceland.

John received the European Theater Medal and Victory Medal, and was honorably discharged in February 1946. He often noted how he counted his blessings, having lost his first cousins Ralph DiNucci and Anthony Raffoni, who, respectively, were killed in action in Germany and over Italy while serving in the 101st Airborne Division and U.S. Army Air Corps. John re-enlisted in the Navy as a reservist in February 1947 and served in the Navy Reserve until he was honorably discharged in February 1952.

John entered New York University (NYU) in 1947, graduating with a Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering in 1950. He spent two more years pursuing a Ph.D. at NYU, completing his doctoral coursework while also teaching electrical engineering to undergraduate students. John also pursued graduate studies in business management at The George Washington University.

John began his professional career with the New York City Department of Hospitals, where his work required him to become licensed as a New York State Professional Engineer, and then with the Army Corps of Engineers at Ft. Monmouth, New Jersey. From 1951 to 1952, he served as Commander of Post 2546 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in New York and was active in the Knights of Columbus (in which he became a 4th Degree Knight).

In 1952 John met the love of life, Mary Ellen, an aspiring actress and a buyer for Richard G. Krueger, Inc, a manufacturer of high-end infant necessities, toys and novelties. They met while John lay prostrate on a pinball machine at the Guardsman pub on Manhattan’s East Side, being “operated on” by his friends who were wielding plastic knives and forks. As both John and Mary told the story, given the novel circumstances of that first meeting, Mary saw no good reason to accept his first invitations to go out. However, soon she did. They later fell in love and were married on February 27, 1954 at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City.

John and Mary both were active in the Black Friars Guild, a theatre company on Manhattan’s West Side in which numerous actors and actresses got their starts, including Shelly Berman, Eileen Heckart, Darren McGavin and Geraldine Page. Here they helped to stage numerous productions, and John served as a volunteer manager. Their love of theater never waned, showing itself in different ways throughout life. For instance, they often entertained their children by dancing on furniture, pretending to be Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, reflecting their love and flair for ballroom dancing.

In September 1956, John began working for the Federal Power Commission (FPC) in New York City, where he developed an expertise in hydroelectric power generation and marketing. This was the beginning of a long career in public service during which he received regular promotions and won numerous awards for meritorious service.

While still in New York (living in the Bronx) John and Mary began a family. Their children (Ellen, John, Richard and Paul) were all born in New York. In June 1962, John moved his family to Alexandria, Virginia after accepting a position at the headquarters of the FPC (now the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) in Washington, D.C. Later, his office moved to the U.S. Department of Interior, for which he worked in the Bureau of Reclamation until 1977, when it merged into the newly formed U.S. Department of Energy and re-named the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA). There, John worked in the Office of Power Marketing Coordination.

During his life in Alexandria, Virginia John remained active in church and community affairs, including membership in St. Rita’s Catholic Church and the Knights of Columbus. At St. Rita’s, he served as a lector and a member of the Parish Advisory Board (of which he became chairman) and also coached boys track and field. In addition, he served as a member of the Board of Directors of Catholic Charities of Northern Virginia.

In August 1983, John and Mary moved to Lakewood, Colorado, a suburb of Denver, where John accepted a promotion to the Director of the Division of Marketing and Rates of WAPA. John worked for WAPA until his retirement in January 1987.

Perhaps John's biggest accomplishment was his renegotiation of prices that WAPA charged to western electric utilities. Using a win-win approach that benefited utilities as well as WAPA, the new arrangements ultimately earned the Federal government far higher revenues, paying off Hoover Dam years earlier than planned.

In Colorado, John was active in church and community affairs as a member of and lector at Our Lady of Fatima Church in Lakewood, a member of the Knights of Columbus (Council 9597), and a member of the Green Mountain Home Owners Association board of directors.

After his retirement, John remained involved in Our Lady of Fatima and his homeowners association and became an active member of the Destroyer Escort Sailors Association, a fraternal group for veterans of destroyer service in World War II. He also frequently traveled, including visits to his family – particularly his grandchildren (about whom he always bragged) and his adult relatives (who regularly congregated in Las Vegas for family reunions).

John is survived by his children and their spouses Ellen DiNucci and Mark Smith of Belmont, California; John and JiEon of Falls Church, Virginia; Richard of Timonium, Maryland; and Paul of Goffstown, New Hampshire; and his 7 grandchildren – Jennifer, Anjelica, Kayla, Nicholas, John, Anna and Christian. He is also survived by: his sister, Rosemarie Morelli (of Phoenix, Arizona); his first cousins Robert DiNucci (Helen) (of Wilton, Connecticut) and Lorraine Vero (of Ronkonkoma, New York); his godson, Mike Giordano (Liz) (of Altadena, California); his nephew David Grimshaw (Kathy) (of Epping, New Hampshire) and niece Suzanne Grimshaw (Bob Shortman) (of Phoenix, Arizona); and numerous second cousins and nieces-in-law, nephews-in-law and cousins-in-law.

John would not want to be mourned in death. He was a devout Roman Catholic who enjoyed life to its fullest and who loved to laugh and tell jokes. He was always the life of the party and most certainly a “hail fellow well met.” Although he worked hard and achieved much, he never took himself seriously and always had time for his fellow man. He was a man of charity, who gave of his time, donated much to the Church and, being the son of working poor and having come of age in the Great Depression, was always ready to help a person in need.

John’s ashes, along with those of Mary, will be inurned with military honors at Arlington National Cemetery immediately after an 8:45 a.m. memorial mass at the Old Post Chapel, Ft. Myer, VA on Monday, July 20. For more information, contact Ellen DiNucci at [email protected].