Our People of the Century Dominick DeRossi: "A man from humble means who did many great,       unselfish things"

A man whose family and work came before all else, Dominick DeRossi found time to give generously to his community.

People in Cumberland County, Italy and Israel were among those who benefited from DeRossi’s hard work and compassion.

The son of Italian immigrants, DeRossi started to work at 14 as a bundle boy in Vineland’s clothing industry.

He graduated from the Philadelphia Textile School and the West Philadelphia School of Designing, attending both at night.

DeRossi’s father, Angelo, a presser in the factory, eventually bought into the business. In the 1920s, father and son bought the rest of the business and DeRossi and son was born. Father and son worked side-by-side with 50-some workers in their coat factory, one of the five manufacturers in the three-story building at Sixth and Quince.

Eventually, the clothing factory would become one of the leading manufacturers of military uniforms and grow to occupy the block between Almond and Quince.

Hundreds of thousands of Eisenhower jackets were produced by DeRossi during World War II.

The business prospered, and with it, the DeRossi family.

“He loved gathering with his family on holidays and Sundays – he was devoted to his family,” said DeRossi’s son, Donald, who still runs the company. “He was a hard worker who cared about his business and his employees.”

A dynamic fund-raiser, DeRossi received a medallion from the Republic of Italy recognizing his efforts for victims of earthquakes and floods in Italy. He raised funds for Isreal after the Six-Day war in the late ‘60s.

The last mayor of Landis Township and a member of the first Vineland City Council after the consolidation of Vineland and Landis Township in 1952, DeRossi served on the school board and the boards of directors of various organizations, including Newcomb Hospital and the Tradesmens Bank and Trust Co.

In 1964, Pope Paul VI named him a Knight of St. Gregory. DeRossi was commended and honored by many local organizations.

DeRossi was 76 when he died in 1981 – a humanitarian devoted to his family and the business he couldn’t stay away from even in retirement.

His son remembers “a man from humble means who did many great, unselfish things in his lifetime.”