Joseph passed away peacefully at home on June 21st after a brief illness, his daughters and grandson by his side. He was 96 years old. He was the son of the late Salvatore and Ersilia (Sabatini) Del Prete and the husband of the late Louise Del Prete. They had been married for 65 years.

Joe leaves his beloved daughters, Alberta Del Prete (Dr. Daniel M. Asquino) of Cranston, Arlene Del Prete of Rehoboth, MA, and three grandchildren: Christelle Del Prete of Utah and Brad and Seth Read of Rehoboth. He also leaves his sister Ann Michaud of South County, and his brothers Salvatore of North Providence and Anthony of Warwick. He was also the brother of the late Peter Del Prete. He also leaves many nieces and nephews. In addition, he leaves his brother-in-laws, Louis and Herbert Orabona (Emma).

Joe graduated from Central High School in 1939 and then enlisted in the Army in the 75th infantry. He served proudly in Europe toward the end of World War II. Upon arriving back in the states, he went to work in Washington for the Pentagon for one year. He returned to RI where he met his future wife Louise at a dance. He worked forty years for the Veteran’s Administration before retiring. In his spare time, Joe loved playing the piano. He spent many hours at the keyboard practicing everything from Chopin’s Polonaises to Erroll Garner’s “Misty”. When not playing piano, he read daily. Despite having glaucoma, he read books about history and politics and continued to read The Providence Journal especially the sport’s page. He enjoyed keeping up with the Red Sox, Patriots and other teams. This last year, he enjoyed listening to the Congressional Hearing on C-Span until he could no longer hear. “He was truly an example of the greatest generation”.  

His funeral will be held on Tuesday, June 27th, at 9:15 a.m. from the NARDOLILLO FUNERAL HOME & Crematory, 1278 Park Avenue, Cranston, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at 10:30 a.m. in Holy Ghost Church, 472 Atwells Ave, Providence. Burial with military honors will take place in RI Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 301 South County Trail, Exeter. VISITING HOURS: Monday from 4:00-7:00 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to a charity of your choice or Best Friends Animal Society, 5001 Angel Canyon Road, Kanab, UT. 84741.

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