Flag March organizer dies at age 89
Published 02.05.2019
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Anthony L. DiSalvo, the driving force behind the annual God, Country and Community Flag March – and the high-flying landmark at Penn College's main entrance – died Monday, Feb. 4, at The Gatehouse. The 89-year-old DiSalvo was the longtime chair of the National Flag Foundation’s local chapter and worked with college administrator William J. Martin in 2000 to have the 60-by-30-foot "Old Glory" installed on campus as part of the Flags Across America initiative. DiSalvo tirelessly organized the red, white and blue procession every Flag Day (June 14) for more than three decades, and relished handing out his eponymous "Tony" awards to deserving participants in ceremonies outside the Student & Administrative Services Center. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 1:30 p.m. Friday in St. Joseph the Worker Parish, 702 W. Fourth St., Williamsport, followed by burial at Wildwood Cemetery. Befitting DiSalvo's military and community service – he was a Korean War veteran with a near-lifelong connection to the Boy Scouts of America – the funeral procession will pass by the college's flag. The family will receive friends at Crouse's, 133 E. Third St., from 1-3 and 6-8 p.m. Thursday. A full obituary is posted to the funeral home's website.