James Frank DeLuca

James Frank “Jim” DeLuca, 70, of Fishers, Ind. and formerly of Holley, passed away peacefully on Aug. 3, 2019. God called me home. He was born Aug 12, 1948 in Brockport to the late James V. and Mary DeLuca. The family later relocated to Holley.

He is survived by his wife, Diane M. DeLuca; his sister, Wendy L. (Tom) McCall; his son, James S. (Veronica) DeLuca; his daughter, Lynar K. (Steven Melle) DeLuca; grandchildren, Gavin, Avery, Marcel and Jett DeLuca, and Steven A. Melle.

A veteran, Jim proudly served in the U.S. Navy from 1965 to 1969 as a Machinist Mate on the submarine USS Ethan Allen SSBN-608. To this day, special lifelong friendships exist; he wore his dolphins with pride. God bless the United States of America. Thank you for your service and our freedom.

Following his honorable discharge from the Navy, Jim moved to Phoenix in 1969. He had a 29-year career with the telephone company (Mountain Bell/Qwest/CenturyLink). He retired in 2002 as corporate media producer.

Jim brought two beautiful children into this world, James S. in 1974, and Lynar K. in 1977.

Seeking four seasons and a low cost of living, he and his wife, Diane, fully retired to Fishers in 2009. With limited time on earth, Jim survived metastatic melanoma cancer for more than eight years and, ironically, didn’t die of cancer. Jim and Diane loved their retirement time together. Mornings were for reading. I share with you his favorite excerpt, “I loved with such a love as comes only once in a lifetime,” from the novel, “The Return of Sherlock Holmes.”

A Memorial Mass will take place on Fri., Aug. 23 at 11 a.m. at Holy Spirit at Geist Catholic Church, 10350 Glaser Way, Fishers IN 46037.

Jim chose to donate his body to the Indiana University Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology.