Anthony D. "Tony" Volk

Anthony “Tony” Volk, 98, peacefully passed away in the comfort of his home, surrounded by beloved family, on Saturday, February 16, 2019.  He was born on May 13, 1920, the seventh child of his immigrant parents, Justina (Frankenhauser) and Dennis Volk. Before his second birthday, his father died suddenly leaving his family with no means of support. His brothers and sisters went out to work upon finishing elementary school. Consequently, his mother, wanting him to have a better chance at education and life enrolled him in Girard College, a free boarding school for poor fatherless boys in Philadelphia founded in 1845 by Steven Girard, a prominent philanthropist. Tony finished high school a year early in 1937, and was given an extra year of schooling equivalent to freshman year in college. He was immediately employed by the Dodge Steel Company of Philadelphia as an analyst of steel products and raw materials. He attended Drexel University from 1938 until 1942 studying chemical engineering before enlisting in the U.S. Army Air Corps, as it was known at that time. He was trained as a navigator and commissioned as a second lieutenant in April 1943. Tony was assigned to the 303 Bomb Group flying B-17s stationed in Molesworth, England. While returning from his 13th combat mission (target for that day was marshalling yards in Berlin) his aircraft was damaged over the target, fell out of formation, was attacked by enemy fighters and shot down. He and his crew bailed out just before the aircraft broke up and caught fire. Tony was captured immediately and imprisoned at Stalag Luft I in Germany for the remaining 14 months of WWII. He was liberated by Asian Mongols and Soviet troops in April 1945. They wanted to parade the ex-prisoners through Asia and send them home by way of Vladivostok but fortunately the American troops reached the prison camp and took control. The Americans, seeing the poor health conditions of the internees, sent some for recuperation to U.S. Army hospitals and the rest to special camps which were sent up in France. In August 1945, Tony was released from active service and immediately applied to Villanova University, taking advantage of the G.I. Bill of Rights. He was accepted and graduated with a bachelor’s degree of science in Chemical Engineering, September 1949. In June of 1949, he married Elizabeth “Betty” Miller.  For a short time after graduation he worked for the Philadelphia Gas Company as a field engineer. In 1951 he took a job with the DuPont Company at the Newport Delaware plant and moved to Delaware where he held various supervisory level positions. Tony was active in the plant Credit Union serving as a board member then president for a number of years. Before retiring in 1980, he went to Savannah, Georgia for a short time managing the transition of a product which E.M. Laboratories, (a German subsidiary of E Merck) had purchased from DuPont. While working for DuPont, Tony stayed active in the Air Force Reserve and retired as a senior navigator attaining the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. While in the reserve, he participated in several air craft missions in Vietnam including special duty assignments. During his military career, both active and reserve, he received sixteen decorations and citations. He was very active in his parish of Saint Matthew serving on the finance committee of the parish council, principal of the high school religious education program and president of the Parent Teacher Council (PTC).  Also, he received the St. Georges medal for his work with St. Matthew’s boy scout Troop 21. Tony was commissioned as one of the first Eucharistic ministers to the Liturgy in 1971 which first allowed lay people to distribute Holy Communion and he held that commission until 1976 when the family moved to Hockessin. He continued to volunteer in his new parish of St. Mary of the Assumption.  There, he was commissioned to serve as a Eucharistic minister to the sick serving this ministry for more than 15 years.  He volunteered on a regular basis making sandwiches for the poor at the Emmanuel Dining Hall and preparing meals for the men staying at the House of Joseph. Tony also volunteered with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program (VITA) helping primarily senior citizens with tax preparation, wills, and 201k. He is survived by his eight children and their spouses: John (Rachel), Alice Volk-Roy (John), Lucy Rogers (Steve), Liz Casper (Victor), Fred (Patty), Joe (Donna), Maria Riley (Mark) and Geralyn McCourt (Tim); his 24 grandchildren and 19 great grandchildren.

Tony was predeceased by his wife of 61 years, Betty, who passed away on July 16, 2010.

Family and friends are invited to visit at the Doherty Funeral Home, 3200 Limestone Road, Pike Creek on Wednesday, February 20 from 5:00-7:00PM.  A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at St. Mary of the Assumption Church, 7200 Lancaster Pike, Hockessin on Thursday, February 21 at 9:00AM, immediately followed by interment in Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Bear.

In lieu of flowers donations can be made to your local hospice, or Birthright of Delaware, 1311 N. Scott Street, Wilmington, DE 19806.

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