Pedro DeJesus

Pedro A. DeJesus, 57, of Egg Harbor Township, NJ passed away on October 1, 2016.



Born in Bakersfield, CA, he was the son of the late Amadeo, Sr. and Francisca DeJesus.



He was the father of Valerie Vargas and Regina DeJesus; grandfather of Eduardo, Jillisa, Joel, Josalyne, Deanna and Gerard; great-grandfather of Milani; and brother of Alfred Borja, Dionisio Borja, Robert Borja (Virginia), Helen Castro (Santiago), Amadeo DeJesus, Jr. (Lynne), George DeJesus (Julie) and Linda Jimenez (Pedro).



Friends and relatives are invited to his Graveside Service Monday, October 10, 2016 at All Souls Cemetery, West Brandywine, PA 19320



Eulogy from Tony's Brother



Family and friends,



It is with my heavy heart that I pay tribute to a very special person in my life, my brother, Pedro Antonio De Jesus or as most of us knew him as ...."Tony".



My name is Amadeo De Jesus and I am one of Tony's older brothers. He was remarkable in so many ways. He lived his life to the fullest, always did it his way, and touched so many people in so many different ways during his time here with us.

As I began to reach out for the right words to express my thoughts about my brother I remembered the many valued and meaningful roles that Tony played through out his life.

First and foremost I see him as the son of "Maye" and "Francisca" De Jesus. As in typical Hispanic society when it comes to raising young men, the father was the disciplinarian and breadwinner and the mother was the caregiver and laid the foundation with morals and expectations.

Our mother was our compass and she passed away when Tony was 11 years old. She understood Tony and had a clear understanding of what he needed to be successful. Her early departure left a vacuum in his life that he would never be able to fill. Tony tried his best but without the foundation that he needed from our mother, he became lost and made some bad decisions that would dictate a life of turmoil and suffering.

Growing up with Tony as a brother was a great honor and a privilege. We are a large family of brothers and sisters. There is Alfred, Donnie, Robert, Helen, me, Tony, George and our baby sister Linda. Tony loved all of our brothers and sisters equally and would not hesitate helping in anyway he could.

Tony also loved Football, Baseball and Basketball. He was very competitive and he would challenge George and I to become better in sports and as men. Many times the three De Jesus brothers would get to the basketball court at sunrise and would not leave until late in the evening hours. It was our way of keeping straight and away from drugs and other vices that were around us during our adolescent years.

His most important role however, was that of a father. I personally cannot remember a conversation with Tony where his daughters Valerie and Regina, were not in the forefront of his thoughts. Tony found the love of his life Rosa, at the early age of 16. They had 2 beautiful girls together and Tony was on top of the world. It wasn't long after his girls' birth that Tony started his struggles with drugs. Although his vices prevented him from being there for them when they needed him, he loved his two daughters more than anything else in life. Tony was not a cruel man and I strongly believe that he never intended to bring them any grief. His battle with two serious diseases did not let him live up to his true potential to give them the support and guidance that only he could have provided. These illnesses restricted his actions and forced him to keep his distance.

Linda, our baby sister, recently told me a story about Tony and his girls that I would like to share.

When Tony first had his daughters they lived in a little wooden shack behind our house. Now, anyone who knows Tony knows that he was very particular about how he dressed. Anything out of place or that did not meet his standard he would just toss away and would refuse to wear it. One day little Valerie was staying with my sister Linda and had to pick an outfit for her to wear that day. As Linda was sorting through the clothes Valerie would say "feo, feo, feo...." Until Linda held out an outfit that met with her approval, "yes Linda." There was no doubting that she was Tony's daughter. At that time in her life they looked at things with an eye for detail and held themselves to a high standard.

Tony, my brother, it is very hard to say goodbye so we will just say that we will see each other soon. The pages of your book will never be closed, just as the pages of Mom, Dad and Antonio are not closed either.

We will remember you through the many lives and people you have touched and left behind. You may not realize it, but you leave an amazing legacy behind, two beautiful and brilliant daughters. They are your legacy! Through them you leave this world a better place than when you found it and for that you have to be very proud.



Tony, brother, we will miss you, but we will always remember you with respect, admiration and love, forever!