Longtime Pennsylvania state Rep. Tony DeLuca dies at 85

State Rep. Anthony M. “Tony” DeLuca, the senior member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, died Sunday.

DeLuca, 85, died at home. He had been diagnosed with lymphoma, according to a news release from his office.

For 39 years DeLuca, a Democrat, represented the 32nd Legislative District, comprised of Penn Hills, Verona, the majority of Plum Borough and the Borough of Oakmont.

For more than 20 years, he served as Democratic Chairman of the House Insurance Committee. Following his first lymphoma diagnosis and his late wife’s breast cancer diagnosis, DeLuca became an advocate for cancer awareness and early detection.

In addition to the House Insurance Committee, he was a member of the Democratic Policy Committee and several other caucuses including autism, cancer, firefighters and emergency services, mental health, sportsmen and steel.

DeLuca believed serving as a state representative was a full-time commitment did not have outside employment, according to the release.

Until just a few days before his death, he remotely participated in House floor sessions and voted on legislation.

A resident of Penn Hills for more than 60 years, he got his start in politics serving on the Penn Hills Government Study Commission that helped draft the municipality’s Home Rule Charter, then five years as a Penn Hills councilman, followed by two years as Penn Hills deputy mayor before running for his legislative seat.

DeLuca graduated from Westinghouse High School and the Community College of Allegheny County. He had four children, nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. In addition to his late wife, he was preceded in death by his brother, Larry, and his parents.

DeLuca’s office will be closed through Oct. 15 and reopen Oct. 17.

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