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DONATUCCI
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Maria Donatucci, fourth from left, received an honorary plaque for her husband’s efforts from Elaine Fera, standing, president of GAMP’s Parent and Alumni Organization. The evening included a celebration of the Girard Estate community that Donatucci’s late partner worked to improve over his 30 years of public service. Staff Photo by Greg Bezanis
she said of the representative, whose district includes Girard Estate, Marconi, Newbold, Packer Park, a section of the Navy Yard, parts of Southwest Philadelphia and Delaware County. “Thank you for honoring Bob this way.”
“He was so passionate about community topics,” Della Barba added of the ally to her civic group, which she joined the year after its formation. Since she assumed the role of president, she could depend on Donatucci for input on such volatile topics as crime, nuisance bars and parking. “He was a real person,” Della Barba said of her friend, with whom she last spoke two days before his demise. As for his lasting effect on Girard Estate, she cited two apparent by-products of his diligence. “He worked hard for preserving the library,” she said of the 1935 Shunk St. facility, formerly the Passyunk Branch, that the City in April ’04 renamed the Thomas Donatucci Sr. Branch to honor the state representative’s father, a community figure who over four decades chartered Girard Estate’s future. “This space, too,” she added with a wave around the acoustically stellar auditorium. Della Barba knows people will remember Donatucci for more than these locations. “There was no partisanship with Bobby,” she said. “He just cared about helping people.” SPR Call 215-334-6673 to purchase a copy of the $10 documentary. All proceeds will go toward the Donatucci Library. Contact Staff Writer Joseph Myers at jmyers@ southphillyreview.com or ext. 124. Comment at www.southphillyreview.com/news/features.
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JODY DELLA BARBA, the civic’s president and a resident of the 2500 block of South 18th Street, spoke of Donatucci as “a friend to the community.” “He was the best friend GEAR has ever had,” she said of Donatucci’s commitment to the 29-year-old group she has headed for more than a decade. “He helped us with our Christmas in the Park celebration [at Girard Park, 21st and Shunk streets] and our St. Anthony Festival [at 17th and Ritner streets in June], among many other types of aid.” Della Barba introduced “Girard Estate: Ideal City Homes,” a 10-minute documentary paying homage to an area that joined the Philadelphia Register of Historic Places as a historic district in June 1999. The piece, a collaboration between GEAR and the Girard Estate Neighborhood Association, came as a result of the area’s winning a Preservation Alliance of Greater Philadelphia essay contest. “We had to write an essay about something special in our neighborhood,” she said of the area she has called home for most of her life and of which the Preservation Alliance offers self-guided walking tours. Della Barba and her neighbors won the competition and constructed the video,
for which Thomas Donatucci conducted research. Girard Estate consists of 481 homes, and the documentary examines what has endeared the residences to their occupants, including their use of Colonial Revival and Jacobean architecture and their inclusion of front and rear gardens. Della Barba, who has spent 45 years in her abode, noted in the video that the neighborhood’s early days thrived because of the incorporation of several Italian traditions, notably communal bonding. The opinions from the viewers revealed that being able to depend on Donatucci had become a current tradition. “I was good friends with Bobby,” Tom Rumbaugh of the 1300 block of South 13th Street said. The Passyunk Square resident’s children developed friendships with the Donatucci offspring years ago, and Rumbaugh noted that Donatucci always valued chances to interact with loved ones. “He was a family man first,” he said. “Politics is such a partisan business, but state Rep. Donatucci had a unique ability to build relationships with everyone,” state Sen. Larry Farnese Jr. said of his Democratic colleague. Farnese took office two years ago and often worked with Donatucci, whose local constituent service office is at 1809 Oregon Ave. “He always put his constituents first, commanding attention and bringing calmness and leadership to situations. I admired his relationship-building skills,” Farnese said.
SOUTh PHILLY REVIEW I january 27, 2011
appearances by the late figure’s family, including wife Maria Donatucci, who is running to occupy her husband’s vacant 185th District seat (see “Family Business,” page 8). “This is a very special night to honor Bobby,” GAMP’s principal Dr. Angelo Milicia said in a cordial welcome. The school leader reflected on the Donatucci family’s contributions to Girard Estate and to GAMP, which opened in 1974. “Maria has been an advocate for all of the GAMP children,” Milicia said of the mother of Thomas, 25, and Dierdre, 22. An anecdote revealed how she and her partner worked hard to secure funding for the auditorium, cafeteria and gymnasium, assistance that nullified the School District of Philadelphia’s inability to give Milicia much aid. “Now we have this auditorium, which makes for a new and wonderful experience,” he said, motioning to the 68-member concert choir decked out in blue blazers featuring the school’s name and a treble clef. “We are sure Bobby is watching over us.” Music director and vice principal Dr. Jack Carr played piano, leading the stylish contingent through “Defying Gravity” from “Wicked”; “I Know Where I’ve Been,” from “Hairspray,” which the school staged in November; and the soaring “You Raise Me Up,” which he found apt. “He raised us up so many times,” Carr said of Donatucci, who died Nov. 9 of obstructive sleep apnea, one week after another massive election victory, at age 58. Elaine Fera, the school’s Parent and Alumni Organization president, lauded Donatucci and his efforts in quadrupling proposed aid from former district CEO Paul Vallas. “Bobby acknowledged the importance of real estate development in the area,” Fera said, noting the creation of Brinton Estates and The Reserves in Packer Park and improvements in Pennsport. “Because of him, we received $17 million, with our cafeteria really standing out.” To the politician’s widow, Fera presented a black plaque that noted the school’s indebtedness, revealing that Donatucci is gone but never forgotten. Ascending the stage, Maria Donatucci beamed with pride to deliver her thanks. “If Bob were still with us, he would be embarrassed over all of this attention,” the resident of the 2500 block of Cleveland Street said. Needing a brief pause to stifle tears, she discussed her husband’s love for the Girard Estate community. “He would say he did everything because it was for the kids and the neighborhood,”