Tribute

Dominick A Ruggiero Jr....born in South Philadelphia in 1933. Son, Brother, Husband, Father of 3, Grandfather of 11 & Great Grandfather of 14. Patriarch of the Ruggiero family. He was a US Navy Medical Corpsman who served during the Korean War. During his time in the Navy he joined their boxing team and by his account never lost a bout. He wore many hats in his employment career. In his early days, he worked at a fabric mill where he developed a new technique for processing the dyes used in coloring the fabric. Later he worked for General Electric in their NASA program. He and his team developed a new graphite nose cone for re-entry capsules that was utilized by NASA for the Apollo Program. He was a school board member, a union vice-president and retired after more than 30 years as a NJ Transit bus driver. In his retirement years, he was commissioned as a notary public, received two college degrees, and performed as an actor. His acting skills resulted in him performing in many stage plays and community theater. He also had the opportunity to act in feature films and on TV. He loved Philadelphia professional sports teams, especially the Philadelphia Eagles, and was fortunate to see all their championships, 1948, 1949, 1960 & 2017. He was known as a fierce defender of his family and would gladly stand in the gap against anyone of any stature to do so. He had a very gruff no-nonsense exterior but inside was like a teddy bear. He loved his family and was very proud of them all, especially his great-grandchildren whom he called his legacy. He will be truly missed by all and know now he is running with his wife Carmella who preceded him in death toward heaven, hand in hand through a field of daisies on a bright sunny day. He will be interred with full military honors along with his beloved wife Carmella at Florida National Cemetary in Bushnell FL.

Friends & Family