Dr. Frank Anthony DeLaura

June 14, 1916 - May 6, 2007

DeLaura, Frank A., M.D. Frank A. DeLaura, M.D., 91, a retired general practitioner, died May 6, 2007, of an aortic aneurysm at St. Agnes Hospital in Catonsville, MD. Family members were with him at his passing. Dr. Frank was born in Niagara Falls, New York to Sicilian Immigrants. He graduated from Loyola Medical School in Chicago, IL, in 1943. His early medical career was with the Army 11th Airborne where he would parachute with his fellow soldiers to provide medical attention. Dr. Frank married Alma, his wife of 63 years, in 1944 and settled in Norfolk, Virginia. There he and his brother Sam set up their medical practice together. Dr. Frank practiced medicine in Norfolk for 43 years. A lover of the outdoors and nature, Dr. Frank loved to take his children camping and to see the many natural wonders of the U.S. He bought a farm, Deer Run Gardens, in 1965 where he would spend most of his free time with projects like building a home, raising many types of fowl, growing nursery plants and even raising a few pigs. His leisure activities rivaled the work many people invest in their careers. And he was only getting started. Dr. Frank purchased another farm, Marl Springs, where he and his children raised Christmas Trees and operated a choose-and-cut farm. This is where he spent the first part of his retirement from his medical practice. After the work of the farms became more than he desired, Dr. Frank and his wife moved to Charlestown Retirement Community in Catonsville, Maryland. As part of his legacy he has left a number of scholarships and foundations that will continue to provide help and hope for the people of this world, a world he literally cared for and loved his whole life. He is survived by his wife, Alma; his four children Fran, Frank, Jr., Jan and John (Ingrid); grandchildren Art, Amy, Lea (Martin)�and Frank; great-grandchildren Amanda, Tristan, Elizabeth and Nathan; sisters Josephine Pietrowski and Rose Rotella in Niagara Falls, NY; and a brother Michael DeLaura in Norfolk, VA. Today, Heaven has gained an incredible asset, and the World has lost an angel. Visitation for family and friends will be held on Saturday, May 12th, 2007 from 1-4:00 PM in HUBBARD FUNERAL HOME, INC., 4107 Wilkens Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland. A Memorial Service will take place at 3:00 PM in the Funeral Home. Cremation to follow. Education was always very important to Dr. Frank. We are asking those who wish to send something (flowers, etc.) to please make a donation to the Frank and Alma DeLaura Scholarship Fund, Director of Institutional Advancement, Niagara University, P.O. Box 2008, Niagara University, NY 14109. Frank A. DeLaura Memorial Mass Eulogy - June 12, 2007 Children tend to think their fathers can do anything. Then as they grow up they begin to realize their fathers are only human like everyone else. Well, we grew up and realized our Dad COULD do anything. There is a commercial out lately by one of the large investment/brokerage firms meant for my generation (the baby boomer generation), how my generation isn't meant for the usual retirement of shuffle board. That we're action oriented. I don't remember shuffle board fitting into my father's retirement. Everything my father did he did with such passion, fully committed, eager to learn everything he could about anything he did. His life was about living to the fullest with family, friends and community. He loved traveling, meeting people and helping people. He was a dedicated physician, his patients loved him. He was the general practitioner who made house calls late into the night, he was on call 24/7. He was a very smart and strategic investor. He collected beanie babies, he did realize that was not a strategic investment, he just liked beanie babies....and teddy bears. He bought investment real estate throughout Norfolk including cottages on the beach. So we got to live on the beach during the summer months. Well before retiring from his medical practice he had already begun his second career as a "gentlemen farmer". He bought 250 acres near Saluda, VA that became "The Farm". After hiring contractors for the initial foundation and framing, he and his good friend Dennis did much of the work building a very nice house with a large stone fireplace, high on a hill facing a river with a dock for his fishing boat. He would put fish nets out so we had fresh fish for breakfast, or crab cages for the few crabs that wandered through. He began raising exotic ducks, quail, chickens, roosters, even turkeys and pigs. With the help of this two sons he built a really nice chicken house. They put a lot of time into this. It had glass windows, and I think at one point they were talking about adding air conditioning. My father was so proud of that chicken house, he often joked that he would have to sell eggs at $100 a dozen just to break even. Obviously his second career wasn't meant to be a money-making venture. Over time the farm included vegetable gardens, fruit trees, grape vines, a hot house for herbs and flowers, and several ponds he stocked with fish. My parents then bought a second farm and beautifully renovated the 1800s farmhouse. The intention was to turn it into a Bed and Breakfast, but they liked it so much when the renovation was completed they moved in, then purchased a third property down the road and began a Christmas tree farm. This is called Retirement Frank DeLaura style. The Christmas tree farm was such hard work all year round taking seven years for the trees to reach a size where they could be sold. The main event each year, of course, was at Christmas time when businesses and families would come to buy trees. It became an annual event for locals and others who traveled a distance to come select, and cut their own trees. Some even planned before and after parties around selecting their Christmas tree. He erected two buildings, one an office and garage for sales and equipment, and a separate building where customers would go and help themselves to free hot cider and cookies my mother would make. He bought antique sleighs for decoration. He purchased a long trailer he painted red and attached to a tractor to take the kids on hay rides through the rows of Christmas trees. He loved taking his grandchildren and great-grandchildren to Disney World when they reached a certain age. Although we eventually realized that the grandchildren were just an excuse because he and my mother started going without the kids. On one of his trips to Disney World he returned saying he had bought a tape of Christmas songs to play at the Christmas Tree farm. Later that year, with the trailer filled with children and their parents, he started the tractor, began moving in the direction of the Christmas trees, then turned on the tape of "Christmas songs". We all broke out laughing, it was the Chipmunks singing the Top 40s. The kids loved it. He was very much involved in their farming community, attending the local church, helping people as needed with time or money. He offered and then funded and built a playground for the kids at the local church. It was a difficult decision to have to sell the farm and move to Charlestown but, being true to form, he found other projects to keep him enthused. More time spent researching investments and a variety of other interests on the internet. Recording shows about cooking and traveling. He loved anything Italian, especially music and food. He was always very proud of his heritage and that was passed on to his children. He loved exchanging recipes with his neighbors at Charlestown and baking cakes, cookies and breads for his neighbors and family. Spending time with his vegetable garden in the Spring and Summer. Building doll houses for his grandchildren and great grandchildren. He always saw education as the means to expanding opportunities. Education was always important to him so he and my mother set up a scholarship fund at the first college he attended, Niagara University, and a second scholarship fund will be established according to his wishes at Loyola Medical College in Chicago. He was a very strong, remarkable man who offered his family unforgettable experiences and opportunities. How incredibly blessed we were to have him for our father. Fran DeLaura (daughter)