State Rep. Anthony M. “Tony” DeLuca, D-Penn Hills, the longest serving current member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives died Sunday, Oct. 9, 2022, at home after a brief battle with lymphoma.

He was 85.

DeLuca represented the 32nd Legislative District for 39 years. The district includes Penn Hills, Verona, the majority of Plum Borough and Oakmont.

DeLuca was a Penn Hills resident for over 60 years and got his start in politics serving on the Penn Hills Government Study Commission that helped draft the municipality’s Home Rule Charter. He followed that by serving for five years as a Penn Hills councilman, followed by two years as Penn Hills deputy mayor before running for his legislative seat and defeating the Republican incumbent.

Proud of his Italian heritage, DeLuca was a co-founder and eventual longtime chairman of the State Legislative Italian-American caucus.

Speaker of the House Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster, said the chamber will not be the same without him.

“Rep. DeLuca was not just our longest serving current member, but one of the most revered and respected by his colleagues and all Pennsylvanians,” Cutler said. “Rep. DeLuca’s unwavering commitment to his district could never be questioned, and his efforts on behalf of all Pennsylvanians, and in particular children, as the Democratic chair of the House Insurance Committee will have an impact for many years to come.”

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald said DeLuca lived to serve his constituents.

“I am saddened to hear of the passing of Tony DeLuca. He was always thinking about what is best for the working men and women in his beloved Penn Hills,” Fitzgerald said.

On Monday, one of DeLuca’s constituents, Wynona Harper, 57, Penn Hills remembered him as “Uncle Tony.” In Nov. 2013, her 31-year-old son Jamar Hawkins was shot to death on his way to work in Penn Hills. Harper said that in the years since her son was killed, DeLuca provided unwavering support to her and her community organization Jamar’s Place of Peace.

“Tony’s been in my life since I was a very young child. He was a friend of my mom’s. He’s ‘Uncle Tony’ to me and I love him for all the things he’s done here. This is a great loss to the Penn Hills community,” Harper said. “He was a great leader. He was a great person. He cared about the people in the community. I lost my son to gun violence and he never left my side in terms of support and getting attention brought to the case. You don’t find too many people like him.”

For over 20 years, DeLuca served as Democratic Chairman of the House Insurance Committee working to guarantee patient safety in all areas of medicine including pharmacies. Following his first lymphoma diagnosis and his wife Connie’s subsequent breast cancer diagnosis, DeLuca became an advocate for cancer awareness and early detection. He supported and introduced legislation to increase funding for local cancer research and improved treatment and care after diagnosis.

DeLuca’s grandson Anthony, a supervisor at Rivers Casino, said he was a tireless public servant who had no interest in retiring even though he was in his mid 80s. He said he learned the importance of treating people fairly from his father, the son of Italian immigrants, who was a butcher and owner of DeLuca’s Meat Market on Larimer Avenue in the East Liberty section of Pittsburgh.

“His parents instilled in him the value of hard work. He just loved being a state rep. There was never any contemplation about retirement. He did it because he loved his work,” DeLuca said, adding that his grandfather’s success as a politician stemmed from how much he cared for people.

“Family was important to him and he took that into his work. He saw the community as his family. He listened to people. He didn’t care how long you wanted to talk, he would listen and he would take in everything that somebody was saying. That would allow him to provide the best answers that people were looking for,” DeLuca said.

“He’d come home from the office and even though he was done for the day he’d be on the phone. He’d have another call to make to a constituent or a constituent would be calling him. So, his work was never really done. He worked up to the last few weeks. He was taking calls and messages from constituents and he worked right up until the end.”

Rep. Austin Davis, D-McKeesport, called DeLuca a true public servant.

“Tony DeLuca was a legislator’s legislator. Obviously he and I come from very different generations but when I got to the House he was somebody who really took me under his wing and made a point to mentor new, young legislators,” Davis said. “He was somebody who never stopped working for the little guy and working class families, particularly in Penn Hills and all of Western Pennsylvania. He is somebody who will truly be missed in the halls of the state capitol.”

Davis said DeLuca often displayed a flair for fashion in those halls.

“Every day on the House floor everybody was kind of looking to see what color blazer Tony was wearing,” he said. “He often wore pink or orange and he would always manage to give the rest of us style advice. It was just something that really would make you laugh. He just had such a big personality that we’re all going to miss.”

DeLuca’s grandson said he was also famous for his annual community picnics held at Penn Hills Park, a DeLuca family affair in which everyone was expected to help.

“He’d round up all the family, the kids and the grand kids and we’d all pitch in,” he said. “The park would be packed from sunup to sundown. We’d do lunch and dinner, hot dogs and kielbasa and spaghetti and meatballs. We had food and drinks and games for the kids and prizes and stuff like that. Everything was free.

“He’d go around to every table. He’d talk to everybody he could that was there, he cared for them. He was known for that. He’d talk to everybody. He’d make people feel special.”

Rep. Chris Sainato, D-New Castle, said DeLuca gave his life to the legislature.

“He loved the institution. Tony would work with everybody…He’d work with Republicans, Democrats. It didn’t matter to Tony,” Sainato said. “He’d say ‘we’re here to help people.’ That’s what his passion was, helping people.”

DeLuca’s grandson said he won’t forget the lessons his grandfather taught him.

“He taught me so much about how to treat people and the good you put out in the world will come back to you,” grandson Anthony said. “That’s something I’ll take with me my entire life.”

DeLuca’s office will be closed through Oct. 15 and reopen Oct. 17.

DeLuca graduated from Westinghouse High School, where he briefly played football, and the Community College of Allegheny County.

He had four children; Debbie (Chris) Brinker, Larry (Tina), Michele (Bud) Joyce, and Honorable Judge Anthony (Beth); nine grandchildren; Anthony (Anjelyque), Emily, Ashley, Joseph (Andrea), Nicholas (Ali), Olivia (Gabe), Christina, Zachary (Kait), and Michael, his great-grandchildren; Bella, Ellie, and Julia, with one more expected in April, and his in-laws Alice, Suzanne, Margaret, and Jack. In addition to Connie, his wife of 66 years, he was preceded in death by his parents Lawrence and Katherine and his older brother Larry (Judy).

Visitation be from 2 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Gross Funeral Home in Penn Hills. A funeral mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Verona.

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