Beatrice De Phillippo Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Beatrice “Bonnie” De Phillippo Bonnie was born in Jersey City, NJ on Jan. 2, 1926, the third daughter of Jeanette and Dan Luttier. A few minutes before midnight on October 11, 2015, Beatrice “Bonnie” De Phillippo passed away at the Stuart F. Meyer Hospice House, in Palm Coast, FL, after a short four month battle with cancer. She was 89 years old. Bonnie had one son, Danny McGackin, before she found her soulmate and life partner Dominick “Dom” De Phillippo, whom she married after a 10 year courtship. Bonnie had an adventurous spirit. She found fulfillment in traveling, and loved meeting new people. It was this love of adventure that sent her to live in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. She was shortly followed by her son Danny, who was part of the familial migration to that island. She lived there happily for 20 years, surrounded by various cousins, nieces, nephews, and eventually granddaughters. Bonnie was willing to take risks, and was able to accomplish what she did through her intelligence and strong personality. Bonnie hit her stride in her 40’s when she decided to open the first of a series of businesses. Her first, Bonnie’s Dog House, where she sold hot dogs which had been poached in beer, was an instant success, even while located on a dirt lot beside another restaurant. She eventually moved the business to a more central location, and did very well for 5 years. Feeling restless, she changed gears and moved on to other business ventures, including a nightclub, selling aloe products at the top of its popularity, and a health food store. Her biggest success was her women’s clothing boutique, Sugar Birds. She would buy swim suits and silk dresses on the main land, and retail them on St. Croix. It was during this time that her acute fashion sense came into play. Unfortunately, Sugar Birds became a casualty of Hurricane Hugo, and she had to close the business. Because of their advanced age, and lack of adequate medical facilities, Mr. and Mrs. De Phillippo moved from post-Hugo, St. Croix to Blowing Rock, NC. There, they lived in a lovely home at 4,000 feet of elevation, but found that this quaint storybook mountain town afforded them limited social life in the off-season. Bonnie and Dom then moved to Asheville, NC, where they lived happily for the next 12 years. During this time, memories of St. Croix continued to haunt her dreams, so Bonnie wrote a memoir, as yet unpublished, of her time there, called “You Make Your Own Paradise.” At this point, various health issues had Mr. and Mrs. De Phillippo looking around for a climate more forgiving, and they set their sights on Florida. After much research, they settled on Palm Coast, one of Florida’s newest cities. Here, Bonnie found an idyllic place to spend her days with her husband and dogs. Bonnie was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, entrepreneur, dog lover, avid crafter. She had a wicked sense of humor and a carefree and generous spirit. In addition to her parents, Bonnie is preceded in death by her infant sister Mildred, and her son Danny, who passed away earlier this year. Bonnie is survived by her husband Dom De Phillippo, her sister Doris Forbes, her granddaughters Kenna Benitez, Loni McGackin and Danielle McGackin, and her great grandson Elijah LaRose. A very special thank you is extended to the nursing staff at Stuart F. Meyer Hospice, in particular to Nurse Linda and Nurse Michelle, who helped make Bonnie’s last days comfortable. Bonnie will be cremated and some of her ashes will be spread in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. All arrangements are under the care of Heritage Funeral & Cremation Service, Flagler County, FL.

Tributes

Beatrice De Phillippo

October 16, 2015