Daniel DeCarlo

Born during the Great Depression in 1930, Daniel A. DeCarlo grew up in a small Pennsylvania coal mining town. He was the son of poor immigrant Italian parents who had dedicated themselves to raising their six children with wholesome values and a strong work ethic. When he was fourteen, Dan’s parents moved the family to New Jersey so their children might have better opportunities.

As an adolescent, Dan struggled with a learning disability. After getting into mischief, he was placed in a special education class. This proved to be a life-changing experience—encouraged by kind and sympathetic teachers, his attitude changed dramatically. Determined to succeed, he made the National Honor Society and was active in school sports.

At college, Dan committed himself to serving others. He worked in the mill factories over the summer, alongside impoverished families who picked the cotton. Befriending some of the ministers, Dan started a youth center and organized softball games and picnics for the “colored” kids. He was told he was the first “white boy” to help Newberry’s underprivileged youths.

Dan attended graduate school in South Carolina and worked part-time helping veterans earn their high school diplomas. In 1958, he earned a master’s degree in Public School Administration and was offered a two-year overseas assignment in the U.S. Department of Defense Dependent Schools (DoDDS) system. That opportunity began a 38-year career as a teacher and administrator on U.S. military bases in nine countries.

Newly assigned in Paris, Dan met a Frenchwoman named Genevieve. Smitten from the start, his heart was captured by her beauty, wit, and charm. Following courtship and marriage, Dan adopted her toddler son, Eric. The family enjoyed a long and loving relationship together.

After a rewarding career that spanned the globe, in 1994 Dan and Genevieve retired to Hawaii to enjoy their granddaughter. Dan donated 38 thick volumes that documented all aspects of his professional experiences to the American Overseas School Historical Society in Wichita, Kansas. The director remarked it was the largest known collection of scrapbooks on the overseas school system.

Dan DeCarlo has devoted his life to improving the quality of education for young people. Well into his eighties, he continues to serve as a substitute teacher in Hawaii public schools and maintains an active senior lifestyle.

Dan dedicates his life story to his dear and loving wife Genevieve.