Obituary

Carlo Viola

Carlo F. Viola, Jr

Carlo F. Viola, Jr, known to all as Corky, died on September 21, 2022, at 79 years of age. Corky grew up in Vineland, New Jersey where he met Joanne (Jo) Lubin. They were married in 1965.

Corky and Jo bought their first house in old New Castle in November 1969. While raising their children and tending to his old cars, Corky developed his lifelong love for preserving and maintaining old houses and all of the craftsmanship and handiwork that entailed: glazing windows, pointing bricks, and refinishing old locks and doorknobs. By 1983 the Violas were ready to renovate another old house, and moved to their present home on The Strand.

Corky’s passion for historic preservation led him to serve on the New Castle Historic Area Commission and on the board of the New Castle Historical Society, where he helped shepherd the restoration of the Old Library. In 2003, Corky was elected to the Trustees of New Castle Common. He believed passionately in the mission and work of the Trust, and relished the opportunities to assist in the preservation of the hangar at Bellanca Airfield, the modernization and expansion of the New Castle Public Library, and the re-imagining of the Penn Farm. He was elected for a second term in 2016, and retired from the Trust in 2020.

Approaching life with an artist’s sensibility, Corky poured enormous creative energy into photography.  He roamed widely with his camera, producing images that were sometimes straightforward, sometimes abstract, but which all typified his unique way of seeing. The architecture of New Castle was a frequent subject, along with the many places he visited with Jo and friends as they traveled to Europe, Brazil, and the Caribbean. He mounted over a dozen exhibitions of his work over the years at galleries in New Castle and Wilmington.

Corky earned his bachelor’s degree from Lehigh University and worked 32 years with E. I. DuPont de Nemours and Company, retiring in 1998. A member of the New Castle Presbyterian Church since 1970, Corky volunteered in a number of leadership roles in the congregation over four decades.

Corky was preceded in death by his parents, Carlo F. Viola and Gladys Morie Viola. He is survived by his brother Donn, his wife Joanne, sons Todd and Chad and their families, including Cork and Jo’s three grandchildren.