Obituary of O. Thomas De Lalla

O. Thomas De Lalla passed away Wednesday August 29, 2012 at St. Clares Hospital in Dover, NJ. He was born on Long Island, NY on August 4, 1915, son of Otto and Margarite (Raiola) De Lalla. Thomas was a resident of Denville, NJ since 1937 and worked as a Professional Land Surveyor and a Land Planning Consultant in the Denville/Mountain Lakes area for many years. He worked for a period of time as the Official Surveyor for the Township of Denville and served as a former Denville Township Planning Board Chairman during the early days of its inception. Thomas was a Republican County Committee Member, a life member of the American Military Engineers, a member of the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping and belonged to the New Jersey Society of Professional Land Surveyors. He was a very active volunteer in the town in many capacities; A former member of the Rotary Club of Denville with 37 years of perfect attendance and a Paul Harris Award and was active in many Rotary functions and projects, including the construction of Santa Land. He was a former member on the Board of Directors of the Denville Historical Society and was instrumental in the design, layout and construction of the Herb Garden adjacent to the museum. He was also responsible for the layout and construction of the Gazebo on the southern end of the museum site. For his volunteerism he received awards from the Denville Chamber of Commerce, the Pride council, the Mini Bowl and Historical Society. Both he and his wife Agnes received the Lakeland Hills Family YMCA Volunteer Award in 2005. During WWII he served with General George S. Pattons Third Army in Europe for 21 months and for a period of time was attached directly to the Generals Headquarters in Nancy, France, and at the wars end received 5 Battle Stars. Tom is survived by his beloved wife Agnes (Aggie), his son Thomas R. and his wife Grace, his daughter Virginia (Ginny) De Lalla and her husband Fred Kleen, granddaughter Tricia and her husband Steven Kmenta, and their 2 children Michael Scott and Amanda Grace of Haverhill, MA, niece Ellen de Lalla of Saratoga Springs, NY, nephew Vincent de Lalla of Saratoga Springs, NY, niece Jane Cragen of Corapolis, PA, nephew Greg Belcastro of Randolph, NJ, and niece Elaine Belcastro of Allentown, PA. A Mass of Christian Burial Service will be held on Sat. Sept. 1, 2012 at 9:30 AM at St. Catherine of Siena Church, Mt. Lakes, NJ. Friends may visit with the family on Friday August 31, 2012 at Norman Dean Home for Services 16 Righter Ave. Denville, NJ, www.normandean.com from 2-4 and 7-9 PM. Please share a memory of Tommy by lighting a candle on our web site. Donations are being accepted to Denville Rotary Club P.O. Box 35, Denville, NJ 07834.