Arthur DeFazio

Arthur Thomas – Art - DeFazio passed away at his home in Folsom on July 7, 2017, after a fierce but short battle with cancer. 

Art was born November 9, 1948, in Brooklyn New York, to Palma (Bennice) and Salvatore DeFazio.  He was joined 11 months later by a brother, John.

In 1961 Palma and her two boys relocated to San Jose, Ca.  Art attended Camden High, California Concordia College and Concordia Teachers College in River Forest, Illinois.  He earned a Bachelor’s degree and a teaching license for grades K-9.  Art taught grades 5-6 at Zion Lutheran school in San Francisco.

Art was a lifelong musician. While in the Concordia\Lutheran program, a folk music group called The Mustard Seed was formed for the purpose of student outreach.  Art played his beloved Gibson and Martin guitars and toured churches and coffee shops in Illinois and California.  As one member said, they were “stars in their small universe”.  He later played many different string and wind instruments and had an appreciation for most genres of music, with the notable exception of rap. 

Art had a contagious enthusiasm for life and an engaging personality, a wonderful sense of humor and easy laugh and an inclination to stir up and inspire people.  He was a gifted and competitive athlete in tennis, softball, basketball, and loved a good game of cards, backgammon, mancala or chess.  He loved to learn and studied the things that interested him – bikes, cars, woodworking, photography, computers applications and programming, data processing and statistics, compass guidance, and watches and clocks. 

Art felt strongly about serving his country and volunteered for the Army in 1974, and was Honorably Discharged in 1980. Basic training was at Fort Ord, advanced training in Indianapolis and active duty at Kaiserslautern Army base in Germany.  He was an Expert marksman on the rifle and earned commendations for his work at the Army’s 21st Support Command Regional Personnel Center.

Art was very proud to be the father of a Navy man and participated with him in a WESTPAC deployment family member “Tiger cruise” aboard the USS Cleveland LPD 7 based out of San Diego.    

A diligent worker, he is fondly remembered by former colleagues from Blue Shield of California and HealthNet Federal Services for his integrity, leadership, humor and tie-dye socks.  They indulged his sweet tooth with jelly donuts and candy bars.

 Art and Leanna enjoyed traveling and many everyday adventures together including bird watching, photography, woodworking, remodeling their home and playing their ukuleles, cooking (with an extremely limited selection of vegetables) and the joy of their beloved golden retrievers.  Art appreciated that Leanna also loves their cats and he saw to it that they always sent her a Mother’s Day card.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7   Love never ends.

Art is dearly loved and missed by his wife, Leanna DeFazio of Folsom; children Heather (Oscar) Moreno, Nate (Brena) DeFazio, Elizabeth DeFazio of Lodi; Jen (John) Bartush of Citrus Heights, Dan Sarro of Placerville; 5 grandchildren – Katherine and Olivia Moreno, Raelyn and Colbin DeFazio, Travis Bartush; and his brother John (Pam) DeFazio and family in Athens, Georgia.

At Art’s request no memorial service is planned.  Please join us to honor his memory by sharing your time and laughter with someone you love.  If you wish to make a donation in Art’s memory, please consider the following charities that were important to him.

Homeward Bound Golden Retrieve Rescue   https://homewardboundgoldens.org/how-to-help/in-honor-or-in-memory-of.html

Point Cabrillo Lighthouse Association       http://pointcabrillo.org/contribute/donations/

Or the wildlife conservancy or Veteran’s support group of your choice.

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