Joseph C Calabrese, 81, of Wilmington, DE, passed on August 4th, 2024 due to complications from cancer.
Joe was born on June 30th,1943 to Roy and Nicolina Calabrese in Cleveland, OH and moved shortly thereafter to Jamestown, NY, where he spent his childhood. Joe had a thirst for knowledge and was always curious, even at a young age. After graduating from high school, he left Jamestown to pursue an undergraduate degree in Chemistry at Allegheny College in New York. While in college, he worked summers at the United States Naval Support Facility in Indian Head, Maryland, where he helped develop new propellants. In 1963, as part of his work at the Facility, he was invited to the White House lawn to listen to John F. Kennedy Jr. give a speech about the importance of youth in science; a speech that he credits as inspiring his own career. After graduating from Allegheny in 1964, he moved to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne, and later, to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, to pursue a doctoral degree in Chemistry. At Wisconsin, Joe worked under the late Dr. Lawrence Dahl to study hydrogen bonding in organometallic compounds. Joe was an early adopter of computers and a gifted computer programmer throughout his career, even into his retirement. After obtaining his Ph.D., he moved to Italy for a postdoctoral fellowship, before returning to UW-Madison Chemistry to work as the staff crystallographer. Owing to his love of Italian culture, he joined the Italian Club, where he met his beautiful and loving wife, Flora Liotine. Joe and Flora were married on July 9th, 1977. They moved to California for a few years before settling in Wilmington, Delaware in 1980, after Joe accepted a job at Dupont, in the Division of Central Research and Development. Joe and Flora lived together in the same house from 1980 until his passing.
Joe enjoyed a thrilling career as a crystallographer at DuPont. Among his many achievements were determining the atomic-resolution structure of a high-temperature superconductor, the structure of Buckminsterfullerene (C60), and the structure of the enzyme responsible for Vitamin B2 synthesis. After he retired in 2011, Joe ranked #237 in the H-index ranking of the world’s most highly cited chemists. His greatest joy in work was to collaborate. Throughout his career, he worked with scientists all over the world, making friends everywhere he went. He loved sharing ideas, being creative, and connecting with new people.
Joe was reunited with his wife of 47 years, Flora Calabrese, on August 11. He is survived by his son, Mauro, his daughter-in-law, Katherine, his two grandchildren, Flora and George; his brothers- and sisters-in-law Jim and Sarah Bendo, John and Franca Liotine, and Giulio and Flora Liotine; his cousins, nieces, and nephews; and his many friends in Delaware and across the globe, all of whom loved him dearly and all of whom he loved dearly. He was preceded in death by his parents, his sister Katherine, and his brother Anthony. Joe always had something interesting to say, a delicious food to share, and an infectious laugh that brought people together. Nothing was more important to him than his friends and family. He was selfless and untiring in his support for them.
A combined visitation for both Joseph and Flora will be held on Tuesday, August 13, 2024 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at the McCrery & Harra Funeral Home, 3924 Concord Pike, Willington, DE 19803. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Wednesday, August 14th at 10:50 a.m. at St. Mary Magdalen Church, 7 Sharpley Road, Wilmington, DE 19803. Burial will be held in Jamestown, NY. To send condolences visit: www.mccreryandharra.com
