Greensburg man saw life despite blindness
Share this post:
John Dallo was blind from childhood, but he didn’t let that handicap bring him down.
“He was an inspiration to everybody who saw him,” said his wife, Carol Dallo. “He did not just let life go by. He would be right in there helping with whatever.”
Mr. Dallo became blind at age 12 from retinitis pigmentosa, a genetic condition passed down from mother to son, said his nephew, Bob Dallo.
Throughout his life, he relied on an acute sense of hearing, a positive attitude and his Christian faith to see him through, his wife said.
“John lost one sense, but he gained the others,” his nephew said.
“He really got a handle on it, and he wouldn’t let it get him down. He always thought positive about everything,” she said.
John S. Dallo, of Greensburg, died Sunday, May 19, 2019, at his home. He was 94.
Born in White Valley on May 8, 1925, he was a son of the late Primo and Louisa (Dezanet) Dallo.
Mr. Dallo lost his parents fairly early in life and helped his grandmother on her farm. He later helped start Export Fuel Company Inc. with his brother, Pete, and his friends Dick Morchesky and Bob Humes, his nephew said.
The Export business delivers home heating oil, diesel fuel and commercial lubricants. He could operate equipment and helped with, among other things, installing underground tanks.
“He did a little bit of everything,” his wife said. “It made him happy just being able to say he did something worthwhile.”
Mr. Dallo was handy despite his handicap, and he didn’t let it keep him from learning how to do things, working around the house and tackling projects, she said.
“He always figured out a way do things. … It was very inspiring,” she said.
Mr. Dallo met his wife while helping her put an addition on her mobile home.
“I asked him what I owe him, and he said, ‘Just a pie.’ I think it was a cherry pie. I guess it must have been pretty good,” she said. “He liked all kinds of cookies, pies and cakes. Maybe the way to a man’s heart is his stomach.”
In addition to his grandmother’s farm, he worked on a farm once operated by his in-laws and one in Brookfield, where he spent weekends with his nephew.
“He was like a second father to me,” Bob Dallo said.
Mr. Dallo also liked to travel and especially enjoyed going to Alaska and Italy, Mrs. Dallo said.
He liked to read by listening to audio books or having people read to him, she said.
He was preceded in death by two brothers.
He is survived by his wife of 39 years, Carol Eisaman Helzel Dallo; two stepchildren, Jeffery Helzel and Tracy Bradshaw; and three grandchildren.
Friends may call from 10 a.m. until the hour of service at 11 a.m. Saturday at Harrold Zion Lutheran Church, Greensburg. Interment will follow in the church cemetery.
Memorial contributions may be made to Harrold Zion Lutheran Church, 671 Baltzer Meyer Pike, Greensburg, PA 15601.
Kepple-Graft Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.