John D'Alessandro; had owned insurance agency in S. Jersey

John J. D'Alessandro Sr., 71, of Washington Township, former owner of a Vineland, N.J., insurance agency, died Tuesday, Feb. 2, at Kennedy University Hospital in the township following a seizure.

Born in West Philadelphia, Mr. D'Alessandro graduated from St. Thomas More High School there in 1963 and took night classes in business management at St. Joseph's University.

He was an agent for what is now the Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association Insurance Group from the late 1960s to the early 1970s, son John J. Jr. said.

Mr. D'Alessandro then became an agent for the Bruce H. Garlock Insurance Agency in Vineland, which he bought and owned from the late 1970s until he sold it in the late 1990s.

His business focused on property and casualty insurance, his son said, much of it in municipal and school district insurance in Cumberland, Salem, and Gloucester Counties.

He worked for its successor, Glenn Insurance Inc. of Absecon, N.J., and Vineland, for a few years before moving to another agency and retiring in the early 2000s.

"He was a very good insurance man, a great family man," said Thomas L. Glenn, the agency owner.

For 47 years, Mr. D'Alessandro was a member of Men of Malvern, those who attend spiritual sessions at Malvern Retreat House in Chester County for men and women.

His annual retreat took place on the first weekend of every year, his son said.

"His faith was very important to him," his son said. After the annual Malvern visit, "he felt like life was better."

Mr. D'Alessandro served in the Army National Guard in the 1960s, including service in Newark, N.J., during the 1967 civil unrest there.

His daughter-in-law, Christine D'Alessandro, wrote an appreciation of him for the funeral program.

If you happened to grow up with him, she wrote, "you laughed like crazy over his legendary performances" in musicals at his high school.

And she recalled that he coached the softball team for Our Lady of Mercy Academy in Newfield, N.J., for his daughter, Jeannie.

She wrote also that "on the mound at age 11 or 22," his son John J. Jr. was "still looking for his dad to signal pitches from the bleachers," relying on his father's memories of his teenage days on a Babe Ruth baseball team.

In 1988, he fulfilled a dream by spending a week playing with such former stars as Richie Ashburn at the Phillies camp in Sarasota, Fla.

Besides his son, Mr. D'Alessandro is survived by his wife, Nancy; daughter Jeannie Billman; two brothers; and four grandchildren.

A visitation was set from 10:15 to 11:45 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 6, at SS. Peter and Paul Church, 362 Ganttown Rd., Washington Township, before a noon Funeral Mass there. Interment is to be private.

Donations may be sent to St. Thomas More Alumni Association Scholarship Fund, Box 294, Drexel Hill, Pa. 19026.

Condolences may be offered to the family at www.egizifuneral.com.

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