Obituary for Philip Delmolino
On December 6th, his birthday, Philip Michael Delmolino, 55, died surrounded by family after an almost decade long battle with Mitochondrial disease.
Grandson of the late Carmella Albano Delmolino and son of the late Philip A. Delmolino, he is survived by next of kin Luis A. Chavez, his mother Judith Massari Delmolino, his two brothers Shaun and Jamie, many nieces and nephews, his aunt and uncle Chris and Mike Delmolino, and his two beagles, Carmella and Lexy.
Philip, an honor student at Wahconah Regional High School, received the Leo Rivers Good Citizen Award and the Peter Cimini scholarship. In 1988 he graduated from the University of Lowell with a B.S. in Nuclear Engineering, in 1990 with an M.S. in Energy Engineering, was inducted into the American Nuclear Society in 1991, and in 1996 completed his formal education at Lowell earning a Ph.D. in Engineering in 1996. In this time, he built his grandmother an addition for her house, he roamed the streets of L.A. with his friends on a mission to see U2, and he saw Selena in concert.
Dr. Delmolino began his distinguished career Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory in Niskayuna, NY. In 2001, the laboratory awarded him the New Engineer/Scientist of the Year Award. He rose to a prestigious research position in the reactor physics group at KAPL’s Advanced Reactors Program, informing the US Navy’s Nuclear Propulsion Program. Dr. Delmolino served in KAPL’s Office of Special Studies where he addressed issues of national interest and was recognized, along with his team, in letters from Rear Admiral William Landay, chief of naval research, and Admiral Kirkland Donald, director of Naval Reactors. Dr. Delmolino accepted an offer to join the U.S. Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport, RI, reporting directly to the executive director. His friends at KAPL would remember him, among many reasons, for the time he got stuck under a house, the time he performed a barrel roll in his green mustang convertible on a snowy NY backroad, the only casualty a cup of coffee, and for his extensive home winemaking operation, where an incident with a broken wine barrel threatened to turn his blood into wine. In recognition of his achievements at NUWC he was awarded the Superior Civilian Service Award in 2014 by VADM William Hilarides, Commander at NSSC. His colleagues loved and respected him for his intellect, ethics, generosity, infectious sense of humor, and enormous appetite for cheesecake, or any cake, or just cheese.
In his later years he became a great appreciator of fitness and bodybuilding, even winning 2nd place in a navy base wrestling competition with competitors decades younger than him. Dr. Delmolino, at 46, was forced into early retirement because of mitochondrial disease.
His love for life, strong physical foundation, the love of friends and family, and the care of his companion Luis A. Chavez, allowed him to beat his one year prognosis, granting him eight, in which he loved, laughed and made sure that we never forget him.
He was a communicant of St. Mark’s in Pittsfield. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the funeral service will be held at his grave site in St. Joseph’s cemetery on Monday, Dec. 14th at 1:30pm.
All are welcome to this outdoor service with masks. A celebration of Dr. Delmolino’s life will be held at a later date. It is his wish, that in lieu of flowers, we honor his memory with a gift to www.mitoaction.org. Dery Funeral Home, 54 Bradford St, Pittsfield, MA is handling the arrangements.
Grandson of the late Carmella Albano Delmolino and son of the late Philip A. Delmolino, he is survived by next of kin Luis A. Chavez, his mother Judith Massari Delmolino, his two brothers Shaun and Jamie, many nieces and nephews, his aunt and uncle Chris and Mike Delmolino, and his two beagles, Carmella and Lexy.
Philip, an honor student at Wahconah Regional High School, received the Leo Rivers Good Citizen Award and the Peter Cimini scholarship. In 1988 he graduated from the University of Lowell with a B.S. in Nuclear Engineering, in 1990 with an M.S. in Energy Engineering, was inducted into the American Nuclear Society in 1991, and in 1996 completed his formal education at Lowell earning a Ph.D. in Engineering in 1996. In this time, he built his grandmother an addition for her house, he roamed the streets of L.A. with his friends on a mission to see U2, and he saw Selena in concert.
Dr. Delmolino began his distinguished career Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory in Niskayuna, NY. In 2001, the laboratory awarded him the New Engineer/Scientist of the Year Award. He rose to a prestigious research position in the reactor physics group at KAPL’s Advanced Reactors Program, informing the US Navy’s Nuclear Propulsion Program. Dr. Delmolino served in KAPL’s Office of Special Studies where he addressed issues of national interest and was recognized, along with his team, in letters from Rear Admiral William Landay, chief of naval research, and Admiral Kirkland Donald, director of Naval Reactors. Dr. Delmolino accepted an offer to join the U.S. Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport, RI, reporting directly to the executive director. His friends at KAPL would remember him, among many reasons, for the time he got stuck under a house, the time he performed a barrel roll in his green mustang convertible on a snowy NY backroad, the only casualty a cup of coffee, and for his extensive home winemaking operation, where an incident with a broken wine barrel threatened to turn his blood into wine. In recognition of his achievements at NUWC he was awarded the Superior Civilian Service Award in 2014 by VADM William Hilarides, Commander at NSSC. His colleagues loved and respected him for his intellect, ethics, generosity, infectious sense of humor, and enormous appetite for cheesecake, or any cake, or just cheese.
In his later years he became a great appreciator of fitness and bodybuilding, even winning 2nd place in a navy base wrestling competition with competitors decades younger than him. Dr. Delmolino, at 46, was forced into early retirement because of mitochondrial disease.
His love for life, strong physical foundation, the love of friends and family, and the care of his companion Luis A. Chavez, allowed him to beat his one year prognosis, granting him eight, in which he loved, laughed and made sure that we never forget him.
He was a communicant of St. Mark’s in Pittsfield. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the funeral service will be held at his grave site in St. Joseph’s cemetery on Monday, Dec. 14th at 1:30pm.
All are welcome to this outdoor service with masks. A celebration of Dr. Delmolino’s life will be held at a later date. It is his wish, that in lieu of flowers, we honor his memory with a gift to www.mitoaction.org. Dery Funeral Home, 54 Bradford St, Pittsfield, MA is handling the arrangements.