Joseph Daniel DeSilva

It is with great sadness that the family of Joseph Daniel DeSilva, age 77, announces his passing on Friday, October 28, 2022 at White Plains Hospital in Westchester County, NY. Born on December 18, 1944 in Brooklyn NY, Joe was a son to Jules F. DeSilva and Amy (Monish) DeSilva. Joe graduated from St. John’s Prep High School in Brooklyn, NY. He then attended St. John’s University in Queens, NY, where he received a bachelor’s degree in Spanish, and went on to earn an M.S. in Guidance and Counseling from Brooklyn College in Brooklyn, NY. Joe also earned a Sixth Year Diploma in Administration and Supervision from Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, CT as well an A.S. Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Counseling from Manchester College in Manchester, CT. On November 25, 1967 he married Elaine Barbara Giarrusso.

Joe began his career as a teacher at Uniondale High School in Uniondale, NY. Shortly thereafter, he decided to transition from classroom teaching to school counseling. Joe worked as a guidance counselor at three different high schools: Windham High School in Willimantic, CT, Joel Barlow High School in Redding, CT, and Valley Regional High School in Deep River, CT. Later in his career, Joe became certified as a drug and alcohol abuse counselor and worked at The Rushford Center in Middletown, CT, and at Colchester Center for Counseling in Colchester, CT, a private practice founded by Joe and his wife, Elaine. In his spare time, Joe volunteered as a group facilitator/counselor at the Windham AIDS Program in Willimantic, CT, working with clients who had AIDS as well as chemical addictions. Joe was a devoted member of Church of the Holy Family in Hebron, CT, where he served as Eucharistic Minister and Lector, and a member of the Church of the Sacred Heart in Hartsdale, NY.

Joe was preceded in death by brothers Rudolph DeSilva and Jules V. DeSilva, and sister Mary DeSilva Lotito. Joe is survived by his devoted wife Elaine DeSilva, sons Paul (Joanna) DeSilva of Yonkers, NY and Michael (Tita) DeSilva of Sherman Oaks, CA, and his loving granddaughter, Aurora DeSilva.

Visitation will be held Wednesday, November 2, 2022 from 3:00-7:00pm at Edwin L. Bennett Funeral Home: 824 Scarsdale Ave, Scarsdale, NY 10583. A Mass of Christian Burial will take place on Thursday, November 3, 2022 at 10:00am at Church of the Sacred Heart: 10 Lawton Ave, Hartsdale, NY 10530. Burial will follow at Gate of Heaven Cemetery:10 West Stevens Ave. Hawthorne, NY 10532.

Donations in Joe's memory may be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, Hudson Valley Chapter: 2900 Westchester Ave. Suite 306 Purchase, NY 10577-2551. Website: https://www.alz.org/hudsonvalley