Angelo Zucca Sr., 84, passed away peacefully on Monday, August 8, 2022, at St. Andrew’s Village in Indiana, PA.
Angelo was born on January 26, 1938 in Samassi in the province of Cagliari in Sardinia, Italy, the 4th of 9 children born to Giuseppe Zucca and Pietrina Zara.
For nearly 40 years, Angelo was Indiana’s tailor. He began his career as a tailor’s apprentice in Sardinia and later moved to Bonn, Germany, where he honed his craft for 13 years before relocating permanently to the United States in 1974. After working as a quality inspector at Indiana Sportswear and the in-house tailor at Brody’s Department Store in downtown Indiana, Angelo and his wife, Cristina, opened a location above One Hour Downtown Dry Cleaners while simultaneously running a second storefront out of their home on the west end of Water Street in Indiana. In 1987, Angelo closed the downtown shop to work full-time out of the home location and Zucca Tailor Shop became a well-known landmark that Cristina still operates today.
Everywhere Angelo went, he made fast friends. He was beloved around town and most everyone knew him as the jovial Italian tailor who was quick with a smile and a joke. He was drawn toward marginalized communities and often opened his home to anyone who needed a place to spend the holidays or a home-cooked meal. He had a deep respect for members of the military and first responders and he was proud to count the State, Borough, and IUP Police Departments and ROTC among the many uniforms he mended. Angelo loved soccer and the opera. During his time in Germany, he formed and coached an amateur soccer club, Forza Italia, comprised entirely of Italian-German immigrants, and he sang tenor in two separate choirs. Among Angelo’s other loves were travel, food, working on electronics, model trains, IUP Basketball, professional and amateur boxing, and playing cards. Above all else, Angelo loved his family and he worked tirelessly to provide the American dream for his three children.
Angelo is survived by his wife of 49 years, Cristina, his children Marisa Anderson and husband, Richard, Angelo Jr. and wife Carey Anne, and Mario and wife, Karen Onorato, his beloved grandchildren Isabella, Madeline, Valentino, and Carmella, and siblings Gianluigi, Bonaria, and Tulia. He was preceded in death by his parents and his siblings Erminio, Silvano I, Iolanda, Clemente, and Silvano II.
Friends will be received Sunday, August 14th from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Rairigh-Bence Funeral Home & Crematory, Indiana, 965 Philadelphia Street. (Due to the Italian Festival on Philadelphia Street, please use the rear entrance of the funeral home from Nixon Avenue) A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated Tuesday, August 16th at 11 a.m. at St. Bernard of Clairvaux Church. Inurnment will follow at the St. Bernard Mausoleum.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Chevy Chase Community Center at www.chevychasecenter.org.
Online condolences may be offered by visiting www.rbfh.net.
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