Victor "Bananas" Strazzella

Victor Rocco Strazzella II, a stalwart of his family and community, passed away peacefully on November 18, 2024 at the age of 86. Born in Wilmington, Delaware to Carman and Ann Strazzella on April 22, 1938, Victor was a man of unwavering strength, a family man, and a friend to many.

Victor was married to Marie Strazzella and is survived by his beloved wife of over 40 years, Rita Strazzella. He has three children with Marie: Victor, Karla, and Christopher. He is also survived by his step-children Diane and Michelle through his wife Rita, and is predeceased step daughter Roxanne. Also cherished grandfather to his many grandchildren: Andre, James, Julia, LeNeisa, Tiffany, Zachary, and [Diana, predeceased]. Great-grandchildren Chase, Elijah, Jadon, Malaiia, and Masai. He was also beloved brother to his siblings, Shirley, Robert, sister-in-law Debne, and brother-in-law [Michael Decostanza, predeceased].

He was known to many by many names, whether it be 'Bananas' to his friends in the Italian community of Wilmington, 'Sonny' to his parents, Pop or Dad to his children and 'PopPop' to his grandchildren, Victor always brought a sense of fun and laughter to any occasion. Often the life of the party, seen on the dance floor or cracking a joke with his pals playing cards at the Piedmont Lounge or St. Anthony's, his laughter would echo throughout the halls. He called everyone "buddy" since that's how he navigated through life, everyone was a friend and buddy was his way of expressing his love for them.

A graduate of Salesianum in 1956, Victor delved into the dental world and created his own craft as a Dental Technician, in which he oftentimes worked two or three jobs throughout his life, to support his family and provide them with homes that he often had a hand in building or renovating. However, work was not what defined him. He was a man of many talents and hobbies, from being an active outdoorsman in hunting and fishing to a sportsman in golf, scuba diving, skiing and tennis to painting to someone who created undersea escapes through his kaleidoscope of fish tanks. On the latter, in fact, his family would oftentimes find him in his lazy boy surrounded by his vibrant array of fish taks whilst letting his mind wander along with the fish through this visual display of what life was like undersea.

Victor also immersed himself into the world of painting, oftentimes feeling inspired by the American Painter, Bob Ross. There were countless pieces of art littered all throughout the basement of his home, sometimes at the chagrin of his wife. But there is a theme here that ties these two hobbies togehter, creating visual worlds and getting lost in them. He was at peace in these worlds and those that were close to him, could see that. To be so visual but also so tactile was a gift that he would pass on to his family, mostly indirectly so if you were not paying attention, one might have missed out on some of these talents.

We all take peace knowing that Victor is with his parents, his beloved aunts and uncles, cousins, other family members and best friends that have gone before him. Equally, we are relieved in knowing that maybe he's asking one of them to start a new painting with him to capture his big life or asking them to sit down for a card game to share a laugh or a joke. Perhaps even a drink or a toast. Whatever it is, we take comfort in knowing that his life will continue throughout us all.

They say heaven gets a little brighter with each addition, but with Big Vic, we think it just got a little louder.

A Memorial Service with family visitation will be held on Monday December 2, 2024 from 2:00pm to 4:00pm at the Corleto Latina Family Center, 807 N. Union Street Wilmington, De. 19805.

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