John David DePaul

John D. DePaul, 92, of Marco Island, FL, died on July 16, 2024 at his home, fortified with the sacrament of the Church, surrounded by loving family. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Dr. Frances Pellicano DePaul, a daughter Danielle Morgenthaler and her husband, Albert, of St. Louis, MO; a son John C. DePaul of McKeesport, and two grandchildren, Leandra and Michael Morgenthaler. John was a native of Greensburg, PA; the youngest of three sons born to Carmen and Armelia Gloria DePaul. He was preceded in death by his parents and brothers Ozzie and Mario.

John was known for his warm, welcoming smile, mischievous sense of humor, and love of WWI & WWII history. John was a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, Class of 1959. Upon graduation, he began a forty-one year career in the advertising agency business. First in the Pittsburgh office of Batten, Barton, Durstine & Osborne, then as a partner with Dudreck, DePaul, Ficco & Morgan until his retirement in 2000. He is a veteran of the Korean War, with service in the U.S. Navy from 1951-1955.

A native of Greensburg, John began honing his writing skills at a young age, helping produce his father’s weekly Italian-American newspaper, La Sentinella, after school and on weekends. After the outbreak of the Korean War, John enlisted in the Navy.

During his service, John played football in 1951 for Jacksonville Naval Air Station against both military and Division I-A and I-AA college teams, an experience that kept his passion for sports alive throughout his life. In recent years he was a member of the Westmoreland Tennis team and competed in USTA sanctioned Super Senior league play, in the age 60+ category.

A founding director of the Italy-America Chamber of Commerce of Pittsburgh, John served as its first president. The chamber was active in organizing trade missions, which brought together small-to-medium size European enterprises with their American counterparts in the Pittsburgh area. The most important of these activities was the World-Wide Energy conference held in Pittsburgh in 1992, which was organized in conjunction with the United Nations Energy Commission headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.

John was very active in economic development efforts to build trade relations with Italy and France, and to bring European investment to southwestern Pennsylvania. He was appointed to the Western Pennsylvania District Export Council by Secretaries of Commerce in both the George H.W. Bush and Clinton administrations.

In recognition of his volunteer work in trade relations, John received numerous citations and awards from regional governmental bodies in Italy, France and Spain. In addition, he was honored by the Columbus 500 Committee of Western Pennsylvania in 1992 for distinguished service on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America. In 2007, John received the Dominic Roppa award from the National Italian American Sports Hall of Fame, awarded annually to an amateur athlete who has achieved excellence in his or her field.

Upon retirement, John was named a Fellow of the St. Vincent College Center for Northern Appalachian Studies. He served as a general editor for the Center’s series of World War II oral histories, including They Say There Was a War, An Honor to Serve, and Victorious! From Hometown America to Tokyo Bay, 1941-1945. John also served as a consultant for advertising and marketing the Center’s publications. As a veteran of The Korean War, he continued to share his experiences in the College English Department’s Faces of Battle class.

In addition to his work at St. Vincent College, John’s writing credits include articles for U.S. Trade magazine, The Pittsburgh Business Times, Westmoreland History and various advertising journals. Foreign credits include articles in Millimetri, a regional magazine published in the Molise region of Italy, and Il Sole 24 Ore, the Italian equivalent of the Wall Street Journal.

In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to The St. Austin School, a classical Catholic elementary school founded by his daughter in 2011. P.O. Box 6906, Chesterfield, MO 63006, SaintAustinSchool.org