COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: Joseph Peter DiTroia is the immediate past president of the Maspeth Kiwanis. During his presidency, he arranged for 13 different speakers from all walks of life for each of their weekly meetings. He also championed Hour Children, a family service organization that takes care of inmates’ children, to the Kiwanis and was able to send five of those children to Camp Kiwanis. He introduced “Handcrafting Justice,” a group that sends people abroad to market handmade items in countries such as Africa and Asia. “These women make these hand-embroidered items like T-shirts and make a living to support themselves and their children,” he said. DiTroia added that the Maspeth Kiwanis had their club logo printed on the Handcrafting Justice T-shirts and wore them when they participated in the Walk for Pancreatic Cancer with the Lustgarten Foundation in Long Island, raising $2,600.
DiTroia is also a committee member for the New York State Cemetery Association, on the board of the Maspeth Chamber of Commerce and is heavily involved in numerous other organizations. He provides meditation and support once a month to seniors at the Maspeth Senior Center and outreaches to two bereavement groups in Queens. DiTroia also brought Kiwally the Koala, the Maspeth Kiwanis mascot, into being. “Kiwally went out to visit Maspeth Town Hall preschoolers, and did identification for kids at the Atlas [Park] Mall, promoting the club. He even marched in the Memorial Day Parade!”
JOB: DiTroia is president of the Columbarium at Fresh Pond Crematory. In a nutshell, he said his basic job duties are “running the cemetery and crematory.”
PERSONAL: Born and raised in Queens, he currently resides in Middle Village. DiTroia attended Grover Cleveland High School and went on to Queens College. During his free time, he enjoys meditating, yoga and hiking. He also enjoys photography, having placed second in a local magazine contest. “I took a photo of a beautiful sunset, right here in Queens,” he said.
BIGGEST CHALLENGE: DiTroia said his biggest challenge is juggling his schedule between Kiwanis and all the different committees he’s involved with. “I’m learning, absorbing and meeting people. I look at my schedule, and it’s like, where am I? But I’ve enjoyed it, every bit.”
FAVORITE MEMORY: DiTroia said his favorite memory still brings a tear to his eye. “My [late] grandmother was a piano teacher, and we all used to get together for Christmas and Easter. At the end of the night, we’d all go around the piano and as a family, we’d sing,” he said. The song, “I’ll Always Be Waiting For You” was written by DiTroia’s grandmother when her son fought in World War II. “I’ve sung this song with personal friends at memorial services. That’s how I keep her memory alive, that memory of singing around the piano, I love it.”
INSPIRATION: He credits both his wife and mother as his motivations. “My wife helps me tremendously. I am the yin and she is the yang. I have a different perspective than her and she has another perspective, and they fit together like a puzzle.” He also added that his mother gave him the “tools, gifts, and tenacity to do things.”
