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Cancer claims Iorio's dad at age 82

By JONI JAMES, JANET ZINK and CRAIG BASSE
Published February 8, 2007

TAMPA - At age 17, as he fought for his adopted homeland amid the Battle of the Bulge, John J. Iorio always felt he had cheated death.

Returning home to New Jersey, he vowed to live the rest of his life fully. For more than 60 years, he did, teaching, writing and cooking his way through life, raising a family and watching his daughter, Pam, become Tampa's mayor.

Mr. Iorio, 82, one of the University of South Florida's earliest professors, died at his Tampa home Wednesday (Feb. 7, 2007), seven months after being diagnosed with cancer and six decades after returning home from World War II.

"You know you should have died, but maybe you didn't," Mr. Iorio said in a 2004 interview about how the war shaped his life. "So you better appreciate everything."

Mr. Iorio, whose infectious love of language and life inspired friends and students, retired from USF's English department in 1991 as a professor emeritus. Recent years have been spent on his first passion, creative writing.

Mr. Iorio is survived by his wife, Dorothy, and children, Jay, Paul and Pam; grandchildren Caitlin and Graham Woodard; sisters Katherine Bartolini, Susie Cirillo, Mary Koch; brothers Louis and Christopher.

Paying respect

Services

Visitation: With John J. Iorio's family will be held at the University of South Florida Alumni Center on Sunday from 2 to 5 p.m.

Funeral: A private interment will take place at Myrtle Hill Cemetery.

Contributions: In lieu of flowers, the family asks for contributions to the USF Foundation John & Dorothy Iorio Scholarship Fund, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., ALC 000, Tampa, FL 33602, or the charity of your choice.

[Last modified February 8, 2007, 01:19:40]