Obituaries : Joseph D’Agostino; 107-Year-Old Immigrant

Joseph D’Agostino, a resident of Ventura County for 22 years, died of heart failure at the age of 107 Monday at Glenwood Convalescent Hospital in Oxnard.

He was born March 28, 1888 in Naples, Italy and moved to New York at age 20, said his daughter, Madeline Egidi.

“He thought he would make his fortune over here,” she said. “He never made his fortune. He worked hard his entire life.”

D’Agostino was a lifelong tailor who lived in New York and Pittsburgh before moving to California in 1943. He lived in Santa Monica for 30 years and worked for Bullock’s department stores in downtown Los Angeles and on Wilshire Boulevard’s Miracle Mile for 10 years before retiring at age 65. He moved to Newbury Park in 1974 from La Verne.

In retirement, he took three trips back to Naples and remained active until his death, sewing and reading.

“He never smoked and he never drank, but he ate whatever he wanted whenever he wanted,” his daughter said. “He thought everybody else was old, he never thought he was.”

Besides his daughter, his survivors include his son-in-law, Harry Egidi of Newbury Park, and three grandsons.

Graveside services will be held 11 a.m. Friday at Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City.

Arrangements are by Pierce Brothers Griffin Mortuary, Thousand Oaks.

Hutchins, Helen Thomas, 88, of Camarillo, homemaker. Pierce Brothers Griffin Mortuary, Camarillo.

Ventura County obituaries are published free of charge as a public service to readers. Obituaries are based on information provided by mortuaries.