The Life of Victor John Defeo
Victor John Defeo, age 75, of Wynnewood, PA died on March 5, 2023.
He is survived by his wife Diane, siblings David Defeo (Deborah) and Margaret Curtis (David) and his brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Douglas and Wanda Wasson. He is also survived by many nieces, nephews, great- nieces and great-nephews, all of whom live in Canada.
He recently retired from The Wharton School, The University of Pennsylvania, Accounting Department. Outside of his family, his two loves were teaching and golfing. Even though he lived in the States since 1975, he remained a proud Canadian who never gave up his citizenship but chose to be a permanent resident (Green Card). He so appreciated our adopted American family, consisting of many neighbors, co-workers and Philadelphia Zoo docent friends.
A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.
In lieu of flowers but because of Vic’s love of his cats, please consider a donation to PennVet University of Pennsylvania Pet Memorial Program at https://www.vet.upenn.edu/giving/how-to-support-penn-vet/pet-memorial-tributes.
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2023.03.14
My Uncle Vic
My uncle was a son, a husband, a brother, a friend, a favourite professor to thousands of university students, but to me he was MY Uncle Vic. He was always there on every occasion and summer holidays… You could always find him deep in a book with hot cup of coffee and a cat curled up beside him. He made the best spaghetti sauce, and he could magically make ear aches disappear. He drove way too fast, I’ll never forget the pure adrenaline and giggles in the back seat. He cheered us on and spoiled us rotten.
He laughed loud and loved hard. I will forever miss you Uncle Vic xo
2023.03.19
Always willing to help
He will be missed! He was a neighbor for many years and then a friend in Wynnewood thereafter. He was always willing to lend a hand, borrow his pickup, provide expertise on computers and woodworking.
2023.04.02
Miss you
Aside from being our neighbor, Vic and Diane were family to us.
We moved into our home about 5 years ago and was quickly greeted by Diane who I almost immediately connected with. She was kind enough to treat us to zoo tickets which my daughter, who was about 1 at the time, certainly enjoyed!
Soon, Vic and Dianes house became a playground for our daughter Riley. She loved going over to their house, sitting outside with the cats, and using their driveway as a place to learn to ride a scooter. My husband and I loved getting to know them and Vic became more like a father figure to us. He helped my husband Jake replace a sump pump in our basement, build a planter box for our garden and provided us with all of the necessary equipment for fixing everything. I can’t even go into details how much they did for us! Always without any hesitation!
When the pandemic started, we got even closer, they were part of our “bubble.” Riley remembers one hot day, how Vic dragged a lounge chair into the backyard for her and put towels down and the sprinkler on so she could cool off.
I have so many memories of Vic and Riley sitting out front on the rocking chair together taking about who knows what. Sometimes Diane would get a big bouncy ball out and try and peg them with it which always cracked my daughter up.
We had snowball fights together in the winter and trips to the ice cream shop in the summer. Vic would get a milkshake. On the car ride there, I remember Vic telling me how to drive! Haha!
Vic referred to my daughter as “squirt” and I think that term will always be associated with her memories of him. I can still hear his voice yelling “who’s here” when she would knock on their door.
Even when Vic gave me a hard time about not cooking, I knew he meant it with love. I’ll never forget the night Vic cooked lasagna for us. That was the best lasagna I’ve ever had!!!
We’re so grateful for all of the great memories we were able to make with you!
As you would always say when we left “see ya later alligator!”
Love,
Lesley, Jake and Riley