Deacon Sam Dell'Olio
Louis Salvador Dell'Olio, Jr. was born in Galveston on July 4, 1942, the only child of Luis and Mary Dell'Olio. It seems the whole country celebrates his birthday every year. His mother began to call him Sam and the name stuck. His father was a butcher who later became a delivery man for Coca Cola. His mother at first worked as a butcher's assistant and later became a cafeteria manager for GISD. Sam attended St. Patrick Grade School for Grade 1, but his family moved to Texas City from 1947 until 1956. One of Sam's most vivid memories is as a little four-year old boy playing outside the family home when the Texas City explosion happened in April of 1947. Their home was not far from the port. Sam graduated from Kirwin High School in 1960 and from Lamar Tech in Beaumont in 1963. I find it interesting that three of our deacons graduated from Lamar; Deacons Sam, Doug and Buzz. I myself earned six credit hours in Physics from Lamar in the Summer of 1969 as a participant in a government program to enhance science education at the high school level. I was a science teacher at our Franciscan high school in Cincinnati at the time.
After graduating from college, Sam began his long career of 35 years with Coca Cola. He and his wife, Miriam, first went to Fort Worth, Texas. Coca Cola then moved Sam to San Bernardino, California; Barstow, California; El Paso, Texas; and Salt Lake City, Utah. Sam was employed at bottling and distribution facilities in each of these cities and was the CEO for many of those years. He retired frm Coca Cola in 1992 at the age of 50 and moved back to Galveston. After several years of retirement, Sam was itching to move back into the world of work and accepted a position with Texas First Bank. He is now the President of the Texas First Bank locations in Galveston. Sam and Miriam have one child, Richard, who is a veterinarian in Jacksonville, Florida. They have two grandchildren who are 13 and 19 years old.
Sam began his studies to become a deacon in 1994 and was ordained on January 7, 1999. The Bishop assigned Deacon Sam to St. Peter the Apostle Parish. Afer Hurricane Ike he was assigned to Holy Family Parish. Deacon Sam enjoys doing woodwork and likes to fish, but his real passion is serving the poeple of God as a deacon. Those who know him realize that he is always ready and willing to perform his responsibilities as a deacon.
Written by Fr. John Bok