Obituary of Dalgi DeBenedetto

Dalgi “Dal” DeBenedetto, 72, of Freehold Township passed away on Friday, December 8, 2017. Born in Avellino, Italy and raised in Manocalzati, he immigrated as a teenager to the United States in 1955, and lived in Newark, Belleville and Manalapan before moving to Freehold Township. Dal was a United States Army veteran, having served during the Vietnam War. He was the owner and operator of a Carvel Ice Cream Shop in Belleville and two Welsh Farms stores in Matawan and Point Pleasant. He was a Yankees fan and a skilled landscaper, tending to his yard, flowers and vegetables. He was affectionately known as “Poppy” by his grandchildren and will be remembered as a loving family man.

He was predeceased by his parents, Marco and Gaetana DeBenedetto; brother, Edio DeBenedetto; and sister, Mary Johns. Dal is survived by his wife of 52 years, Ann Marie DeBenedetto of Freehold Township; five daughters, Gina McTigue and her husband, Jeffrey of Freehold Township, Denise Orrico and her husband, Anthony of Manalapan, Diana Alu and her husband, Dave of Jackson, Nicole Ong and her husband, Greg of Old Bridge, and Kimberly Miesner and her husband, James of Howell; thirteen grandchildren; six sisters, Carmella Sarno, Rose Sole, Blanche Esposito, Margaret Melia, Gilda McCaffrey and Josephine Pribush; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be held at the Clayton & McGirr Funeral Home, 100 Elton-Adelphia Road (Route 524), Freehold Township on Tuesday, December 12, 2017 from 7:00 to 9:00 PM. Relatives and friends are invited to gather at the funeral home on Wednesday, December 13, 2017 at 9:00 AM for the procession to his 10:00 AM Funeral Mass at the Co-Cathedral of St. Robert Bellarmine, 61 Georgia Road, Freehold Township. Entombment will follow in St. Gabriel’s Cemetery & Chapel Mausoleum, Marlboro. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Dal’s name may be made to the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration, www.theaftd.org. For information, directions or condolence messages to the family, visit www.claytonfuneralhome.com.