DeVizia
We will not let the passing of Joe DeVizia go unremarked.
The gentlest of men you could hope to meet in almost every setting, DeVizia died last week at the age of 83. He left behind a legacy of service to those less fortunate, a legacy so long, deep and wide he epitomized the very meaning of community.
Born in 1942 during the middle of World War II, Joe clearly grew up with an appreciation of how much a hand-up can mean to those in need. He began a career of helping others at the Luzerne-Wyoming Counties Mental Health and Developmental Services in Wilkes-Barre, where he served as executive director. He moved on to spend 26 years as president of the Children’s Service Center, also in the Diamond City, and then spent six years as director of human services for Luzerne County before retiring.
As if that weren’t nearly enough time doing good, he became a Permanent Deacon of the Diocese of Scranton. He commonly appeared in stories unrelated to his professional career: A ceremony commemorating the deaths of homeless individuals, a fund-raising golf tournament for Dinners for Kids (he served on the advisory board and as program coordinator), the Fall Festival for a parish he served, Our Lady of Hope. A town hall meeting discussing the politics of health care coverage (he was moderator).
He helped forge — and served as chairman for — the Generation 2 Generation effort to help people of all ages find common ground. He participated in an “Old-Fashioned Cookout” at a nursing home to mark National Nursing Home Week. Along with local leaders of several religious organizations, he helped plan a trip to Israel. He joined in a restorative justice event at the Luzerne Intermediate Unit.
As far back as 1993, he served as a member of an organization dubbed CORE5, an anti-drug and alcohol group, and as board chairman of VISION, which provided shelter for the homeless.
In 2000, he became the first person awarded the Luzerne Foundation’s highest honor, the Mary Kintz Bevevino Community Service Award, created to annually honor a person or people who have a substantial impact on the betterment of Luzerne County. Through the years he also served on the Martin Luther King Jr. Committee for Social Justice, conducted regular visits to patients in hospitals and nursing homes, and was asked to lead a U.S. delegation to China for a gathering addressing mental health issues.
Carmen Ambrosino, longtime head of Wyoming Valley Alcohol and Drug Services, wrote a letter to the editor in 2023 praising DeVizia’s tireless service. “When Joe DeVizia speaks, you don’t hear his tongue, but instead you hear his heart.”
In 2012, DeVizia was given the Monsignor McGowan Cornerstone Award at King’s College as acknowledgment of his lifetime in community service, and his response was predictably self-effacing. “It’s humbling. And there are so many people who are more deserving.”
We would beg to differ.
We are grateful for his many acts of kindness, and believe he set an example devoutly to be followed.
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