Birth date: Jan 21, 1944 Death date: Aug 11, 2020
Richard Allen DeSalvo, 76, of North Fort Myers, FL passed away with his loving family by his side on Tuesday, August 11, 2020. He was born January 21, 1944 in San Francisco, CA to the late James and Marie DeSalvo. No formal servi Read Obituary
Dick and I worked together for many years at Airfone. We remained friends even after he retired and moved to Florida. He and Ron joined my husband Hank and myself for dinner many times while we were FL snowbirds. He even cooked his spaghetti dinner for us-Delicious! He and Ron were great hosts and we always enjoyed getting together with them.
Dick was always upbeat and we considered him a close friend. He went out of his way to help others and we will always be grateful to him for watching our Florida home while we were back in Illinois.
We especially loved getting together at Chicago Pizza in Florida. It is difficult to find good pizza in Florida-but Dick & Ron had found a great place.
It saddened us when he went into hospice care, but we still kept in touch.
Dick you have been an exceptional friend and we love you and will miss you so much.
Dick was a very special person. Indeed, he was a kind and caring man. He enjoyed having and sharing with friends. While we were neighbors in Forest Park, he was the master of arranging weekly dinner gatherings of friends and neighbors at various area restaurants,,,,and of course, it had to include the occasional trip to Marie's for pizza. Even during my last visit to Dick and Ron's home in Florida, Dick, already suffering, insisted on preparing a meal for us. I will always remember his kindness and generosity. May he rest in peace! My sincere condolences to Ron and Dick's family.
David Winter
I have many sweet memories from my boyhood visiting my Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Marie and their two sons Wayne and Dickie in Franklin Park Illinois. They say you can pick your friends but can't pick your family, but given the choice I would have chosen Dick as a beloved friend even if we weren't related. He was a kind gentle, boy who grew up to be the same as a man. He will continue to live on in my heart and mind.
Joe Mantegna
One of my favorite memories is the summer when I was 13 and spent some days at my Uncle Jimmy ( my dad’s brother), Aunt Marie, Wayne, & Dick’s house in Franklin Park. Dick and I hung out and he introduced me to all his friends. I immediately felt at home. He was very special. He had a great, positive attitude, and was a caring and warm person. Sorry we lived so far apart. Love you Dick: 1:❤️❤️💖❤️💖
Dick and I were cousins and grew up with our families visiting back and forth many years. So glad for the times we spent together as kids with all ouf cousins.
Richard Allen DeSalvo, born January 21, 1944 in San Francisco CA, passed away Tuesday, August 11, 2020 at home in North Fort Myers, Florida. Dick was the son of Marie and James DeSalvo. He is survived by his brother Wayne and his partner Ronald Schultz.
Dick was a strong and uncomplaining individual, always with a positive attitude. He was diagnosed with COPD and placed on Hospice in July of 2017. Even though he knew that every day he woke up he was not as well as he was yesterday, he never shared or showed any negative thinking with anyone ever. As anybody who knew him knows very well - Dick was always a giving person.
After four years of high school at West Leyden in North Lake, Illinois, Dick enlisted in the navy and was stationed in Hawaii. He served four years including two tours in Vietnam. Upon his discharge, he was employed at Bankers Life in Chicago in the computer field. After a number of years he was offered a position in Madison, Wisconsin with Credit Union National Association as the executive assistant to the President. And finally, after returning from Madison, he went to work for a new company - Air Phone - in Oak Brook, Illinois. Air Phone was eventually bought by Verizon. He had a wonderful career with them, traveling the states training flight attendant personnel on the ins and out of air plane phones. When he retired and was moving to Florida, Verizon asked him if he would continue working for them - same salary and benefits - as a contractor. He flew out of RSW - Ft Myers for three more years.
Dick enjoyed the Florida tropics for most of twenty great years - 2001 to 2020.
HE IS GREATLY MISSED!!
Pizza. When Dick and Ron lived in Forest Park and even when they were back for a visit there was pizza night at Marie’s. I remember in Florida Dick became quite renowned for his homemade pizza. We miss Dick. A wonderful guy.
