Obituary of Victor "Vic" H. De Petrillo

Vic was born in San Francisco on November 11, 1920, to Italian immigrants Josephine (Ferro) and Anthony De Petrillo. His Armistice Day arrival must have given him the impetus to serve his country for forty-five years beginning with high school ROTC. Although he and three of his brothers served simultaneously in the same outfit during war time, Vic was the one who held the distinguished honor of becoming the youngest First Sergeant in the Army at the early age of only twenty-one. His military service took him to Korea, Japan, Europe, Alaska and numerous other stateside assignments including two in Colorado Springs where he retired as a Lieutenant Colonel while at ARADCOM at Ent Air Force Base. He became a loan officer at Columbia Savings before working for the Department of the Army at Fort Carson as a Management Analyst.Vic was devoted to his family and married the love of his life, Cula Yolande Knox, in San Francisco in 1947. One of the last true gentlemen, he grieved uncontrollably for the loss of his dear wife in 1997. Their daughter, Yolande Cula (De Petrillo) Gross, and their son, David Knox De Petrillo both reside in California, but Vic wanted to remain in his home.Hawaii was his second love as soon as he discovered the Islands while stationed in the Pacific in 1941. That love affair continued throughout his life as he vacationed there more than fifty times. He kept active with water aerobics and riding his bicycle.Volunteering was important to him and he spread his time among a host of various organizations. He was a member of Friends of Evergreen & Fairview Cemeteries; campaigned on behalf of the Republican Party; and was an Ambassador at the Colorado Springs Airport. He spent a decade in the Protocol Department with the US Olympic Committee, but was most proud of his tenure as a member of the Board of Trustees at Memorial Hospital between 1994-1999.Vic always said he was the luckiest man alive. He had a good life and was well loved by those who knew him best. Generous and appreciative to the end, he was a determined and disciplined individual. He died peacefully on Monday, December 18, 2017, in the home he and Cula built more than fifty years ago. Vic was preceded in death by two sisters and four brothers. He leaves behind his Best Buddy and friend of more than twenty years, Lena Farmer; and his extraordinary, live-in caregivers, Sage Folden and Georgia Olivas.Funeral Service, 10:00AM, Friday, December 22, 2017, St. Mary's Cathedral, 22 West Kiowa Street, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903.Interment, with Full Military Honors, Evergreen Cemetery, 1005 Hancock Expressway, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903 Memorials may be made to St. Mary's Cathedral. Events Service Friday, December 22, 2017 10:00AM - 11:00AM Saint Mary's Cathedral 22 West Kiowa Street Colorado Springs,, CO 80903 Phone: 719-473-4633 Final Resting Place Evergreen Cemetery 1005 Hancock Expressway Colorado Springs, CO 80903