ORRINGTON and OLD TOWN – “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.” We don’t know if he was familiar with this quote but the man certainly lived it. Julio Vincent DeSanctis III, born Dec. 4, 1943, in Vineland, N.J., to Elsie DeSanctis and the late Julio DeSanctis Jr., passed away peacefully Sept. 9, 2011, while surrounded by family after a nine-year struggle with cancer.
Julio grew up with six younger sisters, Barbara Kay Shapiro, Beverly Jean Johnson, Marjorie Lynn DeSanctis, Jacalyn Rae Matkowski, Cheryl Lee DeSanctis and Nicola Marie DeSanctis, and on a street where most of the neighbors were also relatives.
He attended Vineland High, where he excelled in wrestling and generaled in trouble making, and went on to achieve a Bachelor of Arts degree at his beloved West Liberty State College in a mere seven years.
At West Liberty he continued his illustrious wrestling career both on the mat and, on occasion, in saloon parking lots.
Julio received his juris doctor at the University of San Francisco, much to the dismay of a legion of district attorneys. He married his high school sweetheart, Joan Beverly Donohue, Aug. 27, 1966; they recently celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary. Joan DeSanctis is currently the pastor at Old Town United Methodist Church and Stillwater Federated Church. Julio began his law practice in the late 1960s in San Francisco fighting to end the Vietnam War before moving on to Atlantic City, N.J., to help get narcotic addicts into rehabilitation programs instead of jail, long before such advocacy was common. The program, NARCO, still exists today. Julio and Joan moved on to Pittsburgh, where Julio attended seminary and Joan gave birth to their first child, Julio Vincent DeSanctis IV. Shortly thereafter the little family made their way to Bangor. Julio had a short lived career as one of the world’s most interesting taxi drivers before turning his attentions to what would become his lifelong pursuit, driving other attorneys, judges, clerks, cops, witnesses and criminals nuts. In what could only be described as a ravenous desire for justice – and perhaps a bit of just always wanting to be right – Julio stood head and shoulders above the crowd. After more than 35 years of defense work his reputation for pugnacity and as a champion of the underdog is unparalleled. The family settled in Orrington where they welcomed their daughter, Francesca Donohue DeSanctis, and opened a small convenience store/ice cream and pizza parlor/antique shop and eventual home law office, living there for 20 years. They followed that up with brief stays in Eddington, Woodstown, N.J., and are now in Old Town. We hope that everyone holds their memories of Julio DeSanctis as close to their heart as his family does.
Visiting hours will be held 6-9 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 13, and 9 a.m.-noon Wednesday, Sept. 14, at Old Town United Methodist Church, 744 Stillwater Ave., Old Town, where a service of celebration will begin noon Wednesday. A reception will be held after the service at the church. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to CancerCare of Maine, 33 Whiting Hill Road, Brewer, ME 04412 or The Joan and Julio DeSanctis Memorial Fund at Camp Mechuwana, P.O. Box 277, Winthrop, ME 04364.