Ralph D’Angelo

D’ANGELO

Ralph, age 95, on September 13, 2026, of West Chester, PA, formerly of Havertown and Philadelphia.

Predeceased by his wife, Francine “Fran,” (nee Cibotti) D’Angelo, his parents, Adelina (Lerro) and Nicholas D’Angelo, and his siblings, Rosalie and Marie.

Survived by his daughters, Judith Anderson (Chris) and Adele Masters (Chris), seven adoring grandchildren: Christian (Dominique), Christina (William), Robert (Ashley), Rafael, Marc, Nicholas, John Paul, and his eight great-grandchildren: Christos, Josephine, Reese, Lucia, Zuzu, Robbie, Cecilia, Spencer, with his ninth on the way.

Raffaelle Nicola D’Angelo was born March 6, 1931 in South Philadelphia. At the time of his birth, his beloved Aunt Mary nicknamed him “Bunny” because it was close to Easter that year.  That nickname followed him throughout his life with family and close friends, as was customary for many guys in South Philly to have “cool” nicknames.

Ralph was an altar boy at Saint Rita’s Church on South Broad Street and attended elementary school there. He graduated in 1951 from South Philadelphia High School. His yearbook says, “Bunny played JV basketball and girls take up his spare time.” As a young teen, his mom encouraged him to have a pigeon coop on the roof of his home, where he trained and raced his birds. His free time was spent working at his father’s hardware store, Federal Paint & Glass at 15^th and Federal Sts. Summer weekends were spent at his parents’ seashore house in Margate, NJ, where he met the love of his life, Fran. It was there, too, that he fell in love with fishing and crabbing, a love that followed him the rest of his life.

After graduation, Bunny enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard for three years during the Korean Conflict, serving aboard the Spencer and the Half Moon. Because of his experience at his father’s hardware store, he was made company commander of the ships’ warehouse stores.

Bunny and Fran married in 1954 at Transfiguration Church and raised two daughters in Havertown. He left the family hardware business and learned the kitchen and bathroom industry, where he proved himself a natural-born designer/salesman for Philadelphia’s largest wholesaler, Broudy Supply Company Inc.

He retired in 1992 to Ocean City, NJ, where his lifelong dream of owning a 24-foot boat was fully realized. He named it the “Gloria Dei”, Latin for “Glory to God”. Retirement also opened a second act. He discovered a love of yard sales, hunting down the best deals on collectibles, coins, and musical instruments of every kind, which he bought and resold. An avid and expert coin collector for 60 years, he brought that same sharp eye to everything he found, and it all blended into one lasting passion for buying, selling, and collecting.

Bunny and Fran also shared a love of travel. In their later years they became snowbirds, spending winters in Florida before returning home to Pennsylvania each spring. One of the great joys of their life together was a trip to Sicily, where they found the very house his father was born in, the name D’Angelo still above the door.  As the son of Italian immigrants, Bunny was proud of his heritage, but above all he was proud to be an American and a great patriot.

Bunny loved Frank Sinatra and James Bond movies, and anybody who knew him knew it. His license plate even read AGNT 007. He was an avid card shark, too—especially in 500 Rummy and poker. A bona fide Eagles fan, Bunny loved watching the games, win or lose (and what a thrill for him to finally see them win two Super Bowls).

Nothing made him happier than a table surrounded by his family. Food was always the vehicle for bringing everyone together, a proud part of his Italian heritage. Though he was diabetic, he never lost his love of a good meal: crabs he had caught himself, and pasta and meatballs prepared by his beautiful wife, Fran. The last week of his life he was able to enjoy crabs, pasta, and octopus; prepared with love by two of his grandsons. Above all, Bunny was a man of God with strong faith, and was looking forward to being reunited with his wife and his Lord.

Relatives & friends are invited to his viewing Monday, September 21^st, from 8:45–9:45 AM, at St. Elizabeth Church, 110 St. Elizabeth Drive, Chester Springs, PA 19425 followed by his Mass of Christian Burial at 10:00 AM. Interment will be at Calvary Cemetery in Conshohocken.

In lieu of flowers, contributions in Ralph’s memory may be made to either of his favorite charities:

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital at [https://www.stjude.org/donate], or Boys Town at [https://www.boystown.org/]

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