More detail on this person: Lt. Col. (Ret.),
USA James Louis Devito, Jim, was the kind of man
that Teddy Roosevelt described, "the man who is
actually in the arena; who strives valiantly; who
errs... because there is no effort without error
and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to
do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the
great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy
cause; who at the best knows in the end the
triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst,
if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly,
so that his place shall never be with those cold
and timid souls who neither know victory nor
defeat." He was born on November 29, 1946, the
son of Louis and Verona (Budden) Devito. He grew
up in Carmichael when it was new and shiny and
kids roller skated in the streets and drove their
hot rods on those same streets when they got to be
teenagers. Hot rods became the first of his great
enthusiasms in life, the other being helicopters.
He liked things that went fast. And then there was
golf... When his country called in 1968, he
answered, was selected for Officer Candidate
School, trained to fly helicopters and then
volunteered as a scout pilot. The scout's mission
was to fly as low and slow as possible to search
for signs of enemy troops or to find them by
drawing fire, to dare greatly and be fearless as
hell. And that was perfect for Jim. He made the
military his career, first in the army and then
full time for the California National Guard, where
he retired in 1989. After living around the U.S.,
overseas, and parts of California, he moved back
to Carmichael. He fought valiantly against cancer,
passing with peace and dignity on Oct. 26, 2015.
He'll join his brothers in arms at Sacramento
Valley National Cemetery. Jim's great devotion was
to his family and friends, the people he loved who
so loved him back. He is survived by his mother
Verona, wife Gina, daughter Dominique Devito, son
Jamie, brother & sister-in-law Vince & Jan, sister
Gail Davis, grandchildren Jay Devito, Brittney
Devito O'Keefe (Ryan), Kaitlyn Devito (Sam), Zach,
Emma, and Hank DeWulf, great grandchildren
Sammy, Isabelle, and Eliza, loving nieces,
nephews, cousins, stepkids Matt & Molly
McGregor, and dear friends Ralph & Teree, Rick &
Sally, Rick & Mary, Hendy, and Mike. He was
pre-ceded in death by his father Lou, wife Jeni,
and brothers-in-law Dan Davis and Spencer Lee. He
was never small, cold or timid, and always based
his decisions on what was best for others. He
lives on in all of us.
Published in The Sacramento Bee on Nov. 1, 2015
This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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