Philip Scorsone passed away peacefully on Friday, May 14th in Covington, Louisiana at the age of 92. He would have turned 93 next month. Phil is survived by his loving wife, Seraphine Campagna Scorsone of 70 years, his two sons, Joseph Scorsone (Ellen) and Vincent Scorsone, his three granddaughters, Zoey, Catie and Abby, and his brother Joseph Scorsone (Alice) and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins. He is preceded in death by his father Joseph Scorsone, mother Carmella Barrile Scorsone (Sicilian immigrant at age of 8), brother Jack Scorsone and sister Regina Scorsone Becker (Don). Phil was a native of upstate New York. He was born in 1928 in the town of Mt. Morris, where his first-generation Sicilian grandparents owned a farm. Phil was raised in Rochester as a young boy, then his family later moved to Buffalo in the 1930’s. After graduating from Grover Cleveland High School in 1947, he worked for the New York Central Railroad where his father was a conductor. At the age of 20, he met his wife to-be on the Lake Erie Crystal Beach dance boat while Sera was visiting from St. Bernard, Louisiana. Friends and family will fondly recall Phil reciting the improbable story of how he met the love of his life on the dance boat that night in 1948. After courting long distance for two years, they married in 1950 in Our Lady of Lourdes Church in St. Bernard and settled there for the next 51 years before moving to Abita Springs, Louisiana in 2001. Phil was drafted into the US Army in 1952 and saw active duty in the Korean War from 1952 to 1954 during hostilities and was present in Korea when the armistice was signed. As an ammunition supply sergeant, he found the time to type a poem to his beloved wife, Sera, almost every day while overseas. After his tour of duty and return to St. Bernard parish, he and Sera took ownership of a small family grocery store while Phil also started a small radio and TV repair shop in the back of the store. In 1960, they opened Scorsone’s Super Mart on St. Bernard Highway and remained in business for the next 38 years until it closed in 1988 when Phil and Sera retired. Phil loved playing music. He played accordion and piano, as well as the clarinet and sax, when he was young. Phil and Sera also loved square dancing, singing in the church choir and, in later years, spending time volunteering for charitable events, planning day trips and leading bingo games for retirement clubs and communities. Phil was also an active member of VFW Post 8720 in St. Tammany Parish. Funeral services will be held at Grace Funeral Home, 450 Holy Trinity Drive in Covington, LA on Wednesday, May 19th. Visitation will be open to the public from 9:00AM to 11:00AM followed by a mass from 11:00AM to noon. Burial services will follow at St. Bernard Memorial Gardens located at 701 W Virtue St, Chalmette, LA. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Lewy Body Dementia Association at LBDA.org. An online guestbook is available at www.gracenorthshore.com.
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