Angelo H. DiNitto

ANGELO H. DiNITTO- of CA, formerly of Woburn, Monday, February 8th. Devoted husband of Jennie (Cudia) DiNitto of Monterey, CA and the late Alice “Ruthie” (Bellehumeur) DiNitto. Devoted father of Richard G DiNitto and his wife, Margret Hanley of Boston and the late Robert DiNitto. Loving step-father of Marianne Pritchett of Pacific Grove CA and her partner, Javier Ramirez, Rose Garofolo and her husband Andrew of San Jose CA, Philip Cudia and his wife Lynne of Los Banos CA, Frank Cudia and his wife Rhonda of San Jose CA, and Gina Smith of Livermore CA. Dear brother of Agatha Patrick of Vallejo CA,Raymond DiNitto and his wife Anne of North Reading, Mary Schwartz of Woburn, Doris Mizen of Cambridge, and Flora Valente of Medford, and the late Margaret Cavallaro, Nancy Spinoza, Cosmo DiNitto, Vincent DiNitto, Annie Calderon, and Danny DiNitto. Cherished grandfather of fourteen grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. Also survived by many loving nieces and nephews. A Funeral Mass will be held in Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish, 49 Sixth Street, Cambridge, on Wednesday, February 24 at 10:00 a.m. Interment in Mount Auburn Cemetery, 580 Mount Auburn St, Cambridge. Relatives and friends are cordially invited to call at the Lynch-Cantillon Funeral Home, 263 Main Street, Woburn, on Tuesday, February 23rd from 6-8 p.m.

OBITUARY:

Angelo Henry DiNitto, son of the late Civita and Antonia DiNitto of Cambridge, brother of 7 sisters and 4 brothers, and father to two sons and five stepchildren, proud Navy war veteran, survivor of the Great Depression, die hard Patriot’s fan, and conniver of deals, passed away surrounded by his family and beloved cat Pumpkin on Monday, February 8th after almost 95 years of glorious living.

Angelo was a man who loved life, lived it well, and loved his family. He lived in both Somerville and East Cambridge with his parents and 11 brothers and sisters. In 1937, at the age of 16, he left his family to live with the family of his parents’ best friends, Rosina and Philip DiGirolamo, and their 12 children in Monterey, CA with the goal of becoming a fishermen. In Monterey he thrived with an endless number of odd jobs, one in the famous fisheries on Cannery Row, caroused with his best friends Angelo DiGirolamo and Harry Cudia, and dated his first girlfriend, Jennie DiGirolamo.

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, he returned to Boston to enlist in the US Navy. Just before he left, his parents introduced him to a lovely young woman named Ruthie who agreed to correspond with him.

During the war, Angelo was deployed to the Mediterranean as a midshipman and as a Henry Higgins transport boat driver on the USS Hugh L. Scott, which was sunk off the coast of Morocco by a torpedo from a German U boat. Angelo was thrown from the ship when the torpedo hit, and was one of only a few survivors. After he recovered from his injuries, he was honorably discharged by the Navy, and returned to Boston, where he was greeted by Ruthie. Angelo and Alice “Ruthie” Bellehumeur were happily married for 54 years, during which time they lived in Cambridge and Woburn, threw fabulous parties for his brothers and sister’s families, and were the parents of two sons, Robert and Richard.

Angelo was employed as a warehouse manager by General Motors in Winchester,for over 30 years, and then at Toyota in Woburn. Anything that was to be discarded at the warehouses in which he worked found its way into his basement, attic, and garage. He excelled at building things, but only with second-hand materials or scrap wood. He built the house he lived in for 50 years in Woburn, but failed to update the wiring, almost leading to a house fire during the annual 4th of July family reunion.

He was famous for his pancake breakfasts, and for falling asleep in the car in the driveway. While a resident of Woburn, he was a master gardener, and loved deep-sea fishing with his sons. A confident man, he claimed to have selected his son Richard’s wife on first sight.

Angelo and Ruthie traveled extensively to over 30 countries, including Egypt, where they cruised the Nile, climbed into the Great Pyramid of Giza and the tomb of King Tut. They also traveled to California, where they maintained a long friendship with the DiGirolamo family.

When Ruthie passed away in 2001, the DiGirolamo family reached out to Angelo and encouraged him to visit them. Angelo did, and he was greeted by Jennie who had lost her husband, Harry Cudia, after 44 years of marriage.

In 2002, Angelo returned to his beloved Monterey with his cat, Pumpkin, and married Jennie, thereby providing his two sons with a wonderful step mother, three incredible sisters, Marianne, Rose, and Gina, and brothers, Frank and Phil, and many new and interesting aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews.

Angelo and Jenny lived happily together in Monterey for over 13 years in an area often referred to as Spaghetti Hill, not far from her childhood home, where they enjoyed the company and friendship of the extended Cudia and DiGirolamo family, and hosted visits from Angelo’s sons and daughter in-laws, his siblings, cousins, grandchildren and nieces and nephews, and threw epic New Year’s Eve Parties. He visited his friends Angelo and George DiGirolamo on Old Fisherman’s Wharf almost every day.

Angelo had a life-long love affair with lobster, a preference for hot dogs in egg dishes, Italian pastry, fruit (only after dinner), a shot of Galliano or Drambuie, and cheap Italian wine. He was famous for his squid pizza, spinach and raisin pie, and lemon squares. Unfortunately he lost a family cooking challenge on lemon squares to his nephew Danny.

Angelo took fashion cues from no one, as much as both his wives tried very hard to get him to look better. His signature every-day look was a pair of oversized, slightly stained beige khakis and a white T-shirt under a brown sweater, topped by a medal-strewn Navy hat.

In his final days, Angelo was cared for lovingly by his wife Jennie, his step-daughter Marianne, his grandson Mark, and his nurse Alma.

Angelo is survived by his beloved wife, Jennie (Cudia) DiNitto of Monterey California, his son Richard Gerard DiNitto, and his wife, Margret Hanley of Boston, Massachusetts, and his step children Marianne Pritchett of Pacific Grove, CA and her partner, Javier Ramirez, Rose Garofolo and her husband Andrew of San Jose,CA, Philip Cudia and his wife Lynne of Los Banos, CA, Frank Cudia and his wife Rhonda of San Jose, CA, and Gina Smith of Livermore, CA. He was predeceased by his cherished first wife, Alice “Ruthie” DiNitto of Woburn, MA in 2001, and his son Robert of Chelmsford, MA in 2009. He is also survived by his numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren.

He is also survived by his brother Raymond DiNitto and his wife Anne of North Reading, MA, his sister Mary Schwartz, of Woburn MA; his sister Flora Valente and her husband Sal of Medford, MA, his sister Agatha Patrick of Vallejo California, and his sister Doris Mizen of Cambridge, MA and many beloved nieces and nephews. His brothers Vincent, Daniel, and Cosmo DiNitto, and his sisters Margaret Cavallero, Nancy Spinoza, and Annie Calderon predeceased him.

A Funeral will be held in Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish, 49 Sixth Street, Cambridge, on Wednesday, February 24 at 10:00 a.m. Interment in Mount Auburn Cemetery, 580 Mount Auburn St, Cambridge. Relatives and friends are cordially invited to call at the Lynch-Cantillon Funeral Home, 263 Main Street, Woburn, on Tuesday evening, February 23rd from 6-8 p.m..