Daniel Joseph Yulo of Carneys Point, NJ passed away at home on March 1, 2019 at the age of 104. Born Donato Iula on September 20, 1914 to Nicola and Mariantonia (nee Abbondanza) Iula in Corleto Perticara, province of Potenza, Italy, he emigrated at the age of six. In 1920 he sailed with his mother aboard the USS America to Ellis Island to join his father who had fought for the United States in WW1 and earned citizenship.
Together again, the family settled in Camden, NJ. As the oldest of eight, Dan cared for his siblings, memorably aggravating his mother by using the wheels from her stroller to build a wagon for pulling his brothers and sisters around the neighborhood. He was a hard worker from a young age, with jobs at a vehicle depot during prohibition, as a fruit picker, and after leaving school in 8th grade as a professional baker for the Seven Brothers Bakery.
This steady paycheck supported the family through the Great Depression until 1942 when he was drafted into the 130th Infantry Regiment, 33rd Infantry Division. Dan served as a Light Artillery Gunner for HQ Company, 1st Battalion. He fought in the New Guinea and Luzon, Philippines campaigns and ended the war in Japan.
After being wounded carrying an injured soldier to a field hospital, he was awarded a Purple Heart. He loved our country and raised and lowered an American flag daily on the flagpole in his front yard. After returning from the war, he was introduced to the love of his life, Angelina DiPietro.
Marrying in 1947, they soon moved to Penns Grove, NJ. He would live and work here the rest of his life, laboring at DuPont Chambers Works for more than 25 years as a Chemical Operator, formulating dyes and producing tetraethyl lead to be added to gasoline. Dan loved bringing family and friends together with an interesting story or funny joke.
A lifelong Phillies fan and gardener, he could always go for a hotdog with mustard. He was a devoted “PopPop” to his two grandchildren, attending every school event or party and caring for them for many a night or weekend throughout their childhood. Dan took great joy in planting and tending his large vegetable garden, still cultivating tomato seeds in his basement and weeding the rows well after his hundredth birthday.
In recent years he surprised his wife by singing popular songs from before the war, and loved having his great-grandsons visit and play in the parlor. Daniel Joseph is survived by his son, Daniel Michael and wife, Patricia (nee Nothdurft); grandson, Daniel John; granddaughter, Jennifer and husband, Daniel Thomas Lay; great-grandsons, Sebastian and Finnegan Lay; sister, Rose (nee Yula) Hutchinson; and sister-in-law, Dorothy (nee Barton Yula) Link. Along with his parents, Daniel is predeceased by his beloved wife Angelina; brothers Joseph, Vincenzo “Jimmy”, Rocco, Dominic, and Anthony, and sister, Carmella.
Family and friends are invited to call on Friday, March 8, 2019 from 6 to 8 pm at the Ashcraft Funeral Home, 740 South Broadway, Pennsville, NJ. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated 11 am Saturday at Corpus Christi RC Church, 369 Georgetown Road, Carneys Point. Interment to follow at Eglington Cemetery, Clarksboro, NJ.
Contributions can be made in his memory to the Disabled American Veterans Charitable Service Trust at cst. dav.org/. www.
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