Dominick DeLaurentis-11/08/08 (3)

I am Dominic's "Bob oh Link". I am his baby brother. My brother Anthony and sisters Jean, Carol and Loretta are here today. Dominick was the oldest of ten children. Everyone who knew him would agree with me that he had "personality".

He enjoyed conversing with women and if you did not understand him, you might be troubled by his flirtatious nature. That is wrong because he was really a harmless flirt. His generation was molded before political correctness ground human discourse into the bland "no risk of offense" we have today. He felt free to approach anyone and start a conversation. I am too introverted and shy to do that. To him, I think it was the juice of life that made life fun for him.

Dominic was actually a thinker who cared about war, religion and the human condition. You may not know he was seriously wounded and almost died in Normandy during World War II. He told me once about the period before he was wounded. He was ordered by his sergeant to march a low level prisoner of war into the woods and shoot him. He refused the order and someone else was ordered to kill the prisoner. This is an indication of his humanity and depth of his character even under pressure. 

He was strong willed but sensitive to the important things in life. He was frugal about some things, but generous in the important ways. Without being asked, he lent me money to go to college which I promptly repaid.

Dominic was very successful considering he was forced to quit high school. If he had lived in a different time, he would have gotten a good education and would have become a leader in the community and as successful as his wonderful children, Joyce, Joe and Mark. The three of you are your dad's legacy. Dominic was our family leader for many years and we all had great affection for him. We loved him and we will greatly miss him.