David Anthony Juliano

David Anthony Juliano, beloved husband and doting father, gifted musician, and man of tremendous faith, passed away in his home in Wilmington, Delaware on Wednesday, December 17th, age 74. He was surrounded by his wife and six children, after fighting a grueling battle with cancer.

David was born in Wilmington, Delaware on January 20th, 1951, to Eleanor and Angelo Juliano. After having lost both of his parents by age nine, he was raised by his sister and brother-in-law, Dolores and Luciano Lapenta, along with their children, Lorraine, Carolyn, and Luciano, Jr. He had fond memories of his childhood in Little Italy, attending St. Anthony of Padua school, being an altar server in the parish, and running down to Father Tucker field to play ball with the many neighborhood children. He later attended McKean High School and the University of Delaware, where he was an English major. But his true passion was composing and performing music. He wrote, played multiple instruments, and sang for several rock bands, including Jack Dodge and Angel Food. He entered two songs, “Shoot First,” and “You love, you suffer,” into a song-writing contest at WMMR. Among the 5 songs chosen as winners of the contest, both of David​´s​ songs were chosen.

While attending the University of Delaware, he met the love of his life, Anita Angeline. They were married in 1977. By 1983, they had four children, and David began his business career with Sony, starting in sales, but quickly rising through the ranks thanks to his great work ethic and competitive nature. The family added two more children by 1995. Due to his extraordinary performance, David was continuously sought after by and recruited to various companies, many of which were in the emerging cellular industry. He eventually landed at Comcast,  leading the growth of the budding high-speed internet and cable business. He retired from his position there as Executive Vice President of Marketing and Sales in 2014.

David was notable for his exceptional generosity, which extended well beyond his family. He was particularly generous with his beloved parish, St. Anthony’s, not only in his role as a donor, but through the time he served on the board of the church, as well as the board of Padua Academy .  He was extremely generous with his time and attention, and was always available to assist with a problem and offer insightful advice. David never lost his love for music, and could often be heard playing the piano or guitar and singing. With his son, David, he composed music for his daughter, Nina’s, various short and feature-length films. He also had a strong love for literature which he shared with all of his children, often reading books together and participating in lively discussions. He loved Sundays, which started with attending Mass, and also included watching football all day, and enjoying a family dinner. He would prepare his famous “Sunday Specials” for brunch and his job in the dinner preparation was typically to fry the sausage. Most of all, along with his wife of 48 years, Anita, he enjoyed spending time with his six children and twelve grandchildren, for whom he would assign fun nicknames, often with accompanying jingles. His favorite place to relax with them was his home in Sarasota, Florida. Some of his happiest moments were spent on the beach at sunset, playing bocce ball with his family, grandchildren afoot.

David is preceded in death by his parents, Angelo and Eleanor Juliano; his sisters, Dolores Lapenta and Eleanor Paladinetti; his brother-in-law, Luciano Lapenta; his niece (who grew up with him as a sister), Carolyn; his brother-in-law, Gerard Angeline; and his beloved nephews, Mark Smolka and Gerard Angeline, Jr.

He is survived by his beloved wife, Anita; his six children, Lorraine (John), Mariel (Raffaele), Nina (Jason), David, Ava (Jake), and Catherine; and his twelve grandchildren: JohnChristopher, Magdalen, David, Elizabeth, Gabriel, Sebastiano, Leonor, Maddalena, Noemi, Lucia, Maeve, and Viggo.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated for David on Tuesday, December 23, 2025, at 12 pm in St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, 9th and Dupont Street, Wilmington. Where Family and Friends are invited to a visitation starting at 10:30 am, interment will follow Mass in St. Joseph on the Brandywine Cemetery. 

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Comunita​ Cenacolo America. 

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of David Anthony Juliano, please visit our floral store.