A graveside service with full military honors will be held at 11:30 AM at Indiantown Gap National Cemetery, Annville. He was predeceased by two brothers, Stephen DiFabio and Francis DiFabio.įamily and friends are invited for visitation on Friday, June 23rd from 9:30 to 10:30 AM at Rothermel-Finkenbinder Funeral Home & Crematory, Inc., 25 West Pine Street, Palmyra, PA 17078. DiFabio of Harrisburg three grandsons, Luke Hitchcock, Cruz Zeiders, Rome Zeiders a granddaughter, Tia DiFabio three brothers, Peter DiFabio, Henry “Hank” DiFabio and wife Marianne, Louis DiFabio (Brian Gainey) two sisters, Rita Shaffer and husband Scott, Andrea DiFabio and many nieces and nephews. Hitchcock and fiancée Brent Zeiders of Harrisburg three sons, Angelo G. He is survived by a daughter, Teresa A.M. His powerful physical presence was second only to his larger than life smile, uncanny wit and loveable personality. His family was of the utmost importance to him, especially his four beloved grandchildren. He was an amazing story teller and made friends wherever he went. He was proud of his Italian heritage embracing wine making and cooking. He enjoyed all things outdoors including hunting, fishing, travelling and gardening. He was a member of the American Legion, VFW and Disabled American Veterans. He retired after working many years for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He attended Penn State University and worked for the USDA as a Federal Meat Inspector and served as a Deputy Sheriff in Juniata County. He was a distinguished boxer and shooting instructor during his honorable service and was on the last flight from the Embassy in Saigon. “If this crisis doesn’t end, it will only be in zoos that the black headed spider monkey survives,” Stedman said.He graduated from Sun Valley High School in 1973 and served in the US Marine Corps during the Vietnam War earning numerous decorations, medals, badges and commendations including the Rifle Expert Badge. Stedman also hopes her long life will draw awareness to this. Stedman said Gummy’s many offspring have helped contribute to the survival of her species - the International Union for Conservation of Nature considers all spider monkeys threatened and lists a black-headed subspecies, the brown-headed spider monkey, as critically endangered. “We celebrated her life last year when she turned 60 and dedicated a fountain in the petting area to her memory,” Stedman said. No funeral services will be held for the sexagenarian monkey, but the zoo encouraged patrons to donate to wildlife conservation groups in her honor. The zoo said it is discussing plans for Sassy, Gummy’s granddaughter, and whether she would need to be rehomed in order for her to have a companion. “She comes to the door of her holding area, reaches out between the door and the opening and gently wraps her arm around my neck.” “In the morning when I start my routine, the first thing that I do is to take a minute to say good morning to Gummy,” an account on the web page said. Gummy was not just notable for her age, but for her behavior with keepers, the zoo said. Though there is no official record of her birth (and an Idaho zoo celebrated a different species of spider monkey turning 60 last year), the zoo has stated she was the oldest of her species on record. She was presumed to have been born in the wild in 1962. Gummy first came to the zoo in 1981 from a wildlife facility in Florida after living for 18 years at the San Diego Zoo, according to an archived page on Fort Rickey’s website. The story was first reported by the Rome Sentinel and Utica Observer-Dispatch, which noted Gummy’s stay at the zoo was so long-lived that people who had met her as children would later take their own grandchildren to see her. She appeared to have died peacefully in her sleep, zoo owner Rebecca Stedman said in an email Thursday. Gummy turned 61 this year, about twice the average lifespan of a black-headed spider monkey.
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