Meet this week’s “Special Person of the Week:Domenic “Mr. Dee” DeFrancisco
By Frank Santangelo
Domenic DeFrancisco born and raised a SomerVillen, he has many names that include Dom, Dad and Papa, but his most popular name in the community is Mr. Dee.
Mr. Dee came from a large Italian Family of nine who born and raised on Franklin Street in Somerville.
Though now he resides in Cambridge and brought with him his Villen roots which are made of the utmost respect and dignity.
Dom was a supervisor and also a mentor to the young adults of his and all crews of the Just a Start Program before he retired.
His commitment to the community was observed by not only his direct neighborhood, but by the teenagers that came from all over the Twin Cities of Somerville and Cambridge.
Me Dee helped organize block parties to celebrate the 4th of July in the playground “Market Street” located across the street from his home.
He would bring out sports equipment from his garage for the children in the neighborhood to play with. ie; hockey sticks, wiffle balls, baseballs, bats and kick balls. He had bicycles, Roller Skates, and tools as we got older.
He’d fill your bicycle tires and fix your flats and he volunteered to manage the playground which included turning on the sprinklers to cool off in the summer and create ice for skating in the winter. (He even supplied ice skates to those without)
Dom is highly respected by the young groups that would hang out in the neighborhood and or play-ground.
Newcomers were introduced to the family and understood the respect he and his wife Rosemary “Rosie” were given.
Everyone could alway rely on Mr. Dee for a friendly conversation or support because he was always there for everybody.
Up to this day you can still get a friendly wave as he stands outside of his home on Elm & Hampshire Streets. Be sure to say hello when and if you pass by.
Our hats are off to his true Somerville spirit!
We here at the Somerville News Weekly salute you for everything that you do to make Somerville a better place.
Congratulations!
That is awesome, Dom and his whole family are great people…<3 them to pieces…
Cheryl
Thank you TheSomervilleNewsWeekly & also Frank Santagelo <3 I always said words of acknowledgement and respect toward a person should be spoken while they are still here to see for themselves how they have left an impact on others throughout their lives.
<3 Sincere Thankfulness,
Domenic's First Daughter Robin DeFrancisco-Oliveira
What a wonderful man he was to give freely of his time and his mind to those who needed it! It’s no wonder why his family is so proud of him! Keep on keeping on Mr. Dee…P.S. You have a wonderful family also! I can see where Robin gets it from..she is also there when we need a helping hand or a shoulder to cry on;