Andrew J. DiTaranto

It has been said that a daughter is the gift of love, and nothing was more profound for Andy. From the day he was blessed with his daughter, Dina Marie, nothing was more important. Before Dina, Andy proved that blind dates don’t always end poorly, especially when they include a limousine and backstage passes to a Journey concert. That was certainly enough to win the heart of a young woman named Debbie (nee Quinn). It wouldn’t be long until the two would be wed and their lives were blessed by Dina. While Dina was young, Andy and Debbie took her on many trips to Disney World and loved to spoil her at Christmas…but Andy was always mysteriously absent when Santa came to visit. As Dina grew older, he never missed a competition during her eight years of swimming and tennis. Andy always supported Dina, even painting his face and working the sound systems at her competitions. He was well-known by her teammates as Daddy Di and was viewed as a father-figure to many. He enjoyed driving her to school every day while she was working on her Master’s degree at The University of the Arts and was known to touch base with her as many as ten times a day.

As a child, Andy learned how to play the drums; he’d later teach himself to play just about anything that made music. His art was not depicted visually – it was expressed through musicality. With silence as his blank canvas, Andy could turn individual notes and lyrics into a musical masterpiece. While working for Scotti Brothers Records (Santa Monica, CA), he discovered Leif Garrett and collaborated with artists from Rick Springfield and “Weird Al” Yankovic to Sonny & Cher and Frank Sinatra. One time, even Iron Butterfly parked their tour buses in his driveway before their concert in Philadelphia. He still kept a studio where he continued his work at his home in Cinnaminson. His latest inspiration was a young artist, named Emily Paige. For the past 7 years, Emily and her mom, Lyn, spent countless hours with Andy in his home studio and with Tony Papa at Westlake Studios (Hollywood, CA). Andy, and even Dina, helped Emily develop her stage presence, writing and vocal talents. They were in the process of finalizing Emily’s most recent composition with Paul Atkinson at Aurum Recording (Manayunk, PA).

Andy was the only son of Andrew A. DiTaranto and Angela DiTaranto (nee Salkowski), who both predeceased him. Andy is survived by Debbie, Dina and his mother-in-law, Florence Quinn, along with his aunts, uncles, cousins, many friends, and his loyal dog, Perry.

Come celebrate Andy’s 65 loving years (May 14, 1949-July 13, 2014) on Thursday 6-8 pm and Friday 9-9:45 am at Sweeney Funeral Home, Riverside. Mass of Christian Burial will follow at 10:30 am at Sacred Heart Church, Riverton. Interment at Lakeview Memorial Park, Cinnaminson. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to St. Charles Borromeo Parish School, Visual and Performing Arts Dept., 2500 Branch Pike, Cinnaminson, NJ 08077.