Brookhaven man celebrates 100 with a noisy parade
BROOKHAVEN » In 1920, Prohibition was now the law of the land and American women gained the right to vote. And Tony DiMascio was born. All memorable events.
Tony, who lives with his wife, Sallie, at Traditions at Ridley Creek condominium development, celebrated his milestone birthday with a motorized parade past Building 5 by Brookhaven Fire Co. trucks and borough police cars, with sirens blaring.
Seated in a white lawn chair in front of his home decorated with birthday balloons and in front of a sign paying tribute to his 100th birthday, Tony greeted scores of neighbors who came out to wish him well. Among the revelers was borough Mayor
Mike Hess. “Tony, on behalf of the borough council, myself, and all the residents of Brookhaven, we congratulate you on this wonderful milestone of 100 years and we wish you a Happy Birthday and many more to follow,” Hess said. “Let’s do it again next year,” he added.
After a pizza and birthday cake party in his condo building, Tony said making it to his 100th birthday “surprised
me.
“I never gave it a thought that I would get to be 100,” he said.
Born in South Philadelphia, Tony remembered a bit of advice his grandmother gave him as a child growing up. “She told me that you should have a trade,” he explained. So when he was 16, Tony got his barber’s license. But he didn’t stop there. After graduating from Southern
High School, he studied drafting at the former Spring Garden Institute and for 39 years he worked as a draftsman for the Westinghouse Corp. He also served with the U.S. Navy during World War II in the Pacific. Tony and Sallie have been married for 36 years.
His family includes a son, David, and daughter, Patricia, and three grandchildren, all of whom live in Florida, and a step-son, Bob Walker, who lives in Woolwich Township, N.J. The DiMascios moved from Nether Providence to Traditions in 2008.
Tony’s youthful looks often draw comments from people upon learning he has hit the century mark. “I always looked younger than my age and that used to make me angry,” he said. “And now I look younger than my age and I like it.”
“Tony, on behalf of the borough council, myself, and all the residents of Brookhaven, we congratulate you on this wonderful milestone of 100 years and we wish you a Happy Birthday and many more to follow,”
— Brookhaven Mayor Mike Hess