Obituary of Joseph La Duca

Joseph (Giuseppe) LaDuca passed away peacefully on January 19, 2016 at the age of 98 in his home in Cortlandt Manor where he has lived since 1955. Joe was born in New York City on September 21, 1917 to Rosario and Giuseppa LaDuca. Joe was married for 66 years to Violet Honeysett LaDuca who predeceased him in 2005. He was also predeceased by two of his sons, Joe LaDuca Jr. of Wappingers Falls, NY in 2011, and Bernie LaDuca of Peekskill, NY in 2013. He is survived by his daughters, Carol Ray (Gordon) of Highland, CA and Roz Mihaylo (Luke) of Bridgewater, CT; his son, Rick LaDuca of Washington, DC. ; and 18 grandchildren and 30 great-grandchildren. Joe’s life had a sad and difficult beginning when his mother died of the flu when he was only 6 months old. As a result, he was sent to St. Joseph’s Home for Children in Peekskill, where he was cared for by the Franciscan Sisters until the age of 8 when he was finally reunited with his family on the lower east side of Manhattan. He left high school at the age of 16 and worked a series of odd jobs to help support his family during the Great Depression. After leaving home at the age of 18, he started his career as a cook at summer camps in the Catskills, Huyler’s Candy in NYC and the College of New Rochelle. He also was a cook in the U.S. Army at Ft Dix, NJ during World War II. As a result of these experiences, he developed a life-long love of cooking for family and friends. Prior to the war, Joe began his second career as an electrician at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. In 1954, he became a licensed electrician in the IBEW Local 501 in Westchester where he worked until his retirement in 1983. During retirement, Joe was an active volunteer in many Catholic organizations including Graymoor and Cursillo. For the last 27 years, he enjoyed entertaining, thru song and skits, as a member of the ‘Hotsie Totsies’ seniors program in Cornwall, NY. The family will receive friends for a celebration of his life at the Nardone Funeral Home at 414 Washington St, Peekskill, NY from 5-8pm on Friday, Jan 29th. Funeral services will be held at 10am on Sat, Jan 30th, at the Church of the Assumption, 131 Union Avenue, Peekskill, NY followed by a burial at the Assumption Cemetery, 1055 Oregon Road, Cortlandt Manor, NY.