Theodore Joseph DeBonis was born on March 19, 1920 in Pietragalla, Italy. He passed away peacefully in Dallas, Texas on November 19, 2012. Theodore was a loving husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather who came to America in 1928. He served our country in WWII as a machinist in the United States Navy stationed in the Philippians. After the war, he returned to Chicago where he met his wife Ruth. They were married on June 7, 1946 and spent 62 wonderful years together. In 1950, Ted and Ruth moved to California where Ted worked at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory as a machinist. He often worked for Dr. Ernest Lawrence at the Berkeley laboratory until Dr. Lawrence s death. After Ruth's passing in 2009, Ted moved to Texas to be closer to his children. Ted was a loving, kind Christian man whose love for the Lord was paramount in his life.
Ted is survived by his three children, Marie Mortensen, Ted DeBonis and Ruthann Smith; his 7 grandchildren; his 4 great-grandchildren; his sister Carmella Olsen and his nephew's Joe Elia and Daniel Muscari.
A visitation will be held 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., Wednesday, November 21, 2012 at Turrentine-Jackson-Morrow Funeral Home in Allen, Texas. Interment is to be held at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland, California at a later date.