[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 215 (Friday, December 18, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1186]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING THE LIFE OF PASQUALE DiTERLIZZI

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, December 18, 2020

  Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the life and 
legacy of Pasquale DiTerlizzi. Mr. DiTerlizzi succumbed to the 
coronavirus on December 8, 2020 after fighting as hard as he could for 
two weeks. As he slipped into twilight his family was able to surround 
him. He passed from this life on the holy day of the Feast of the 
Immaculate Conception, fitting for a Catholic man who humbly revered 
the Virgin Mary.
  The only son in an Italian immigrant family, Pasquale DiTerlizzi 
became a fixture and a legend in his shoe shop's neighborhood of West 
Toledo, his St. Anthony's Church family and the farm community of 
Temperance, Michigan.
  Born the third child of Mauro and Lucy Saccucci DiTerlizzi, Pasquale 
attended St. Charles grade school and Libbey High School in Toledo, 
Ohio. Immediately after graduation, Pasquale entered into U.S. military 
service, on active duty 1941 to 1944, working as a welder on ships. 
When he returned to Toledo after the war, his brother-in-law took him 
into his own shoe shop where he learned the art of shoemaking. In 1947, 
Pasquale opened up his own shoe shop on Upton Avenue in West Toledo, 
where it remains to this day. In addition to shoe repair, he took 
college courses to learn how to make orthopedic shoes and became adept 
at any leather repair of any kind including saddles, riding gear, 
belts, coats and purses. Even, his shop was the place to go for tap 
shoes. Family vacations were spent at shoe conventions, and the shop 
grew through its 73 years as he worked with his children Anita, Patsy, 
Mario, Tina, Dino and Mari and his wife Juanita. Leading up to this 
last illness, Pasquale, age 97, still worked at the shop. Not driving 
the last few years, he made sure someone in the family took him to the 
shop every day.
  In 1948, Pasquale DiTerlizzi married Juanita Gackstetter and together 
they raised six children, first in West Toledo and then on their family 
farm a short distance in Michigan.
  The farm was a hive of activity with many special family events and a 
busy, active family. Deeply faithful, the DiTerlizzi family became 
synonymous with St. Anthony's Catholic Church in Temperance soon after 
the move to the farm. For decades, Pasquale was a leading parishioner 
at St. Anthony's, where his family initiated its famous spaghetti 
dinner fundraisers. As the family grew, many weddings, Catholic rites 
and family gatherings were celebrated at St. Anthony's.
  Pasquale DiTerlizzi leaves a legacy of life, love and faith to his 
children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and extended family. 
Everyone he knew received a strong handshake, a warm look in the eye 
and a smile. His Catholic faith held him strong through adversity, joy 
and sorrow and it holds his family firmly now as they move forward.
  As Pasquale DiTerlizzi journeyed home he was surely met by his wife 
Juanita and second wife Romelda, his daughter Anita, his sisters 
Virginia, Antoinette and Lena, his parents, cousins, aunts and uncles 
who preceded him in death. He lakes his leave as the Patriarch of his 
family, but his spirit imbues them all. We wish them comfort in 
memories as they forge ahead and honor the life of this remarkable man.