Joseph S. DiMartino

Left Formation August 2001

Joseph S. DiMartino, 85, of Dongan Hills, a decorated World War II veteran and retired mechanical technician, died yesterday in Staten Island University Hospital, Ocean Breeze.

Born in Manhattan, he settled in Dongan Hills in 1930.

Mr. DiMartino worked as a mechanical technician for various newspapers, including the former World Telegram and Sun and the Daily News. During his last 20 years of employment, he worked for the New York Times. He retired in 1980.

He earned his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the Pratt Institute, Brooklyn.

Mr. DiMartino served in the Army Air Forces during World War II, from 1944 to 1945. A bombardier in the 95th Bomb Group, he saw combat in the European theater, completing 35 bombing missions over Normandy, France, and Germany. He achieved the rank of first lieutenant and was awarded the Bronze Star and several Air Medals. After the war, he enlisted in the Air Force Reserves, from which he was honorably discharged in 1955.

He was an avid sports fan and golfer.

Mr. DiMartino was a member of the Ocean Breeze Chapter of the AARP, the Staten Island Chapter of Barbershoppers and was a lifetime member of the Huttner-Pasqualini Post of the American Legion, Dongan Hills. He was also a member of a veterans' organization known as the "95th Group."

He was a lifelong parishioner of St. Ann's R.C. Church, Dongan Hills, and was a charter member of both the church's choir and the Holy Name Society.

In October, he and his wife, the former May Mazzola, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.
In addition to his wife, surviving are his three sons, Stephen J., Joseph L. and Peter A., and seven grandchildren.

The funeral will be Saturday from the Virginia Funeral Chapel, Dongan Hills, with a mass at 9:30 a.m. in St. Ann's Church. Burial will follow in Moravian Cemetery, New Dorp.

Staten Island Advance (NY) - Thursday, August 9, 2001