Tonino DiPilla

Tonino Di Pilla, passed away peacefully at age 84 on Tuesday, February 9, 2016 with his family by his side. For over a year, Tonino fought a long, hard battle against esophageal cancer. Tonino was born on October 16, 1931 in Pacentro, Italy to parents Marco and Incoronata Di Pilla. He had two siblings, his brother Crescenzo Di Pilla and his sister, Anna Marinucci.

He spent the first 16 years of his life in Italy, spending part of those years as a shepherd in the mountains of Abrucci and working the farm, and then moved to Venezuela for work after World War II. There he learned and specialized the art of terrazzo work, marble, granite, and tile laying. He met his wife, Josephine, in his hometown of Pacentro and married her in Italy in 1954. He then moved Josephine to be with him where he was working in Venezuela. There in Venezuela, their first two daughters were born, Claudia and Franca.

Then in 1958, he moved his family from Venezuela to America traveling from New York to Pennsylvania, to Detroit then to California where they raised their family, and his third daughter Diana was born. In Los Angeles, Tonino excelled and specialized in terrazzo and marble work and earned a reputation among Hollywood, working on many celebrity homes including a piano shaped mosaic for Ray Charles’ pool, Tina Turner, Hugh Hefner, Joan Rivers, Steve Forrest from S.W.A.T., Jaclyn Smith from Charlie’s Angels, Michael Landon, a John Wayne statue for the Great Western Savings Building, the San Diego Marriott Lobby and Rod Steward, to whom he said “Yes, my children listen to your music” but he didn’t know what type of music Rod sang.

The manual labor become difficult for Tonino to maintain physically and he eventually needed a knee surgery. So Josephine thought to start a business and they opened Di Pilla’s Italian Restaurant together in 1967 in Rosemead, CA which remains today (49 years), being owned and operated by his daughter Claudia. When they opened the restaurant, Tonino took a break from the terrazzo work to recover from his surgery but he did go back to doing terrazzo work for several more years while Josephine ran the restaurant during the day and he helped during the evening. In 1995, Tonino and Josephine retired to Las Vegas where he loved to play Italian 'bocce' (lawn bowling) and bowling with his friends.

Tonino, was hard working and a great provider. He was a self-made man, who worked hard to provide well for his family and a very generous man who willingly helped to those in need. He loved his coffee, Josephine’s pasta and her cooking and he could grill a mean steak. He liked to play cards, called “scopa” in Italian and loved to play his harmonica. He was the life of the party, one of the silly things he would do was to make hats out of cloth napkins and made people laugh. Tonino had a sharp memory, even at the very end of his life, he could remember dates, times, directions and addresses, even when he was strongly medicated.

Tonino was married to Josephine Donata Avoilio for 62 years, just days before his death, his family was discussing how long they had been married, Josephine said they were married for 61 years and Tonino held up two fingers letting them know that they were wrong and that they had been married 62 years. He was Papa to his three daughters: Claudia, Franca and Diana. Tonino was also Nonno to twelve grandchildren: Melissa Burke, Sarah Garcia, Rachel Herz, Nicolina Monte, Grace McGeeney, Christopher Monte, Daniela Ramunno, Samuel Goeken, Dnte Ramunno, Michael Nichols, Rebecca Goeken and Andrew Goeken; as well as eight great grandchildren: Benjamin Garcia, Diego Herz, Jocelyn Rueda, Quincy Burke, Maximus Garcia, Josephine Herz, Isaiah Garcia, Titus Garcia and still counting.

We are grateful to our 'papa' for being such an example of a provider and a survivor.

We will miss you, our 'papa', 'nonno' and 'bisnonno'.

He Only Takes The Best

God saw he was getting tired a cure was not to be, So He put His arms around him and whispered "Come with Me". With tearful eyes we watched him suffer, and saw him fade away, although we loved him dearly, we could not make him stay. A golden heart stopped beating, hard working hands to rest. God broke our hearts to prove to us, He only takes the best.

Arrangements under the direction of Palm Cheyenne Mortuary, Las Vegas, NV.