Obituary of Joseph Anthony DeSanto

Joseph Anthony DeSanto, 82, of Ocean City, NJ, passed away at his home in Ocean City on Friday, June 23, 2023. Joseph was born at home on Morse Street in Camden, NJ, on September 7, 1940. He is predeceased by his parents, Joseph DeSanto and Anna DiFalco, and his sister Frances (Bonnie Consalvo). After his family moved to the inlet section of Atlantic City at age 8, he attended Holy Spirit Grammar and High School, and graduated from Rutgers New Brunswick in 1963. He joined the US Navy right after and worked as a ship navigator and legal aide. He served during the Vietnam War as a Lieutenant JG, and was later stationed in California, where he met his wife Brenda, who he remained with for 55 years until his death. After moving back to New Jersey, he went to work for the NJ Department of Corrections as a teacher and later on as assistant superintendent. He was an avid writer and self published a novel called "And the Pursuit" in 1989. He loved his family and life-long friends above all else, and body surfing in the ocean. Joseph is survived by his wife Brenda, his sister Marie Busch, his four children; Shelly (Steve Sundra), Charles (Ginny), Rene` and Joseph; grandchildren Ryan, Iyrene, Mayumi, Cody, and Jillian, and great-grandchildren Nicholas, Aidan, Oliver, and Elias, and many nieces, nephews, and friends who he cherished. Graveside services for Joseph will be conducted at the Atlantic County Veterans Cemetery off Route 50 in Estell Manor, at 11:00am on Saturday, July 8, 2023. Friends are encouraged to meet with Joe's family from 10:00am at the gravesite.(Directions to cemetery -At traffic light at intersection of Rt. 40 and Rt. 50-turn left on Rt. 50. Cemetery is 3.5 miles on left). Arrangements by the Gormley Funeral Home LLC (gormleyfuneralhomellc.com)