By John Tredrea, Special Writer
Standing for decades now all over the Hopewell Valley area and beyond is the legacy of the working life of builder Anthony DiCocco Sr., who passed away at age 89 at his Hopewell Township home Saturday.
Among countless other projects, Mr. DiCocco built the Penningon Firehouse on Broemel Place in the 1960s, after the fire company moved out the station it had outgrown on North Main Street. That station, old-timers will recall, shared space with Pennington Borough government, prior to the construction of the new Borough Hall at 30 N. Main.
Mr. DiCocco also built many office and medical buildings and scores of houses. Many of the homes on Sked Street and neighboring streets in southwestern Pennington were built by Mr. DiCocco, along with a great many residences in neighboring towns.
He was born in Guardiagrele, Italy, on May 17, 1925 and came to America with his family though Ellis Island in 1933. He settled on a farm in Hopewell Township where he lived for almost 73 years.
After attending public schools in Pennington, he joined the Merchant Marine in June of 1945, during World War II, and later was honorably discharged.
After the war ended, he started his own construction business while attending night school. He established a strong reputation for producing top-notch work.
Mr. DiCocco was a former member of the Trenton Elks and the Pennington Lions Club and an honorary member of the Pennington Fire Company.
Both his sons, Anthony Jr. and Carmine, are also members of the Fire Company, as is Carmine’s son Michael.
Anthony Jr. and Carmine both still live in Hopewell Township and, after working for years with their father, established their own businesses years ago. Anthony Jr. is a builder. Carmine is an excavator.
The late Mr. DiCocco was an avid hunter and fisherman, but friends will tell you he was happiest while spending time working and enjoying his farmland.
Husband of the late Philomena Picciotti DiCocco and brother to the late Yolanda D’Alesio and Severino DiCocco, he is survived by a daughter, Patricia and her husband Stephen Papenberg; two sons Anthony Jr. and his wife Sue, and Carmine and his wife Patricia; a sister, Jerry Farina and her husband Alexander; and a sister in-law Anne DiCocco, widow of Severino.
He also is survived by one beloved grandson, C. Michael DiCocco, numerous nieces and nephews and, for the last eight years, his caregiver Rita Amaro.
Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday (Aug. 8) at 10 a.m. a.m. in St. James Church, 15 E. Delaware Ave., Pennington.
Interment will follow in Harbourton Cemetery.
Friends may call today (Thursday) from 6-8 p.m. at the Gathering Area of St. James and on Friday from 9 a.m. until the time of Mass.
Memorial contributions may be made to St. James Church, East Delaware Avenue, or the Pennington Fire Company, Broemel Place, Pennington.
