My husband has the heart of a professional golfer and loves nothing more than a good day on the course. Golf is his passion, and he has even been to Scotland to play at St. Andrew’s. When we first got married, he was a member of three different golf leagues and played three to five times a week. His weekly routine ended abruptly with the COVID lockdown, but he still manages to find time to play during the warmer months. He has been trying to teach me since we first met, but it is really difficult to find the time to play, since my work schedule is so intense. I might get out once or twice a season, so I never know if I will be able to connect with the ball. For someone that plays so infrequently, I am tickled pink when I can get the ball in the air. I find that certain clubs are easier to maneuver than others, and my driver is my most problematic club. We have been to several golf shows where my husband is always in hot pursuit of the perfect driver. He could purchase a decent driver for a few hundred dollars, and for years I have marveled at how expensive a golf hobby can be, especially when travel is involved. Golf equipment, however, is far cheaper than musical instruments. Upgrading my flute would roughly cost me twenty thousand dollars, but that would be for my dream instrument. I have spent many hours chatting with my husband and his golfing buddies, especially after a great round at the course, and I have come to the conclusion that equipment is expensive, but a good player needs nothing but his God-given talent and ability. Music is no different. I have watched musicians pursue the best instruments and accessories available on the market, but the finest flutists always told me that a good player could make a piece of tin sound amazing. For the time being, I need to work with my driver more intensely on the course as I rediscover my inner driver in order to accomplish my dreams.

I have always been highly competitive, and that competitiveness is the most annoying trait to everyone that is present in my life, especially my husband. My entire life has been about accomplishment – especially musical and academic accomplishments. Lately, I have been fixated on lifetime achievements because I am at an age where losing people close to me is a frequent occurrence and will be for the next several years. In the past two years, I have lost my aunt and uncle within six months of each other. My uncle was a highly accomplished psychology professor. He taught at universities in the United States, Canada and Norway. Once he completed his tenure in Norway, he retired to Vietnam with his wife to live out the remainder of his days. He wrote several books because he wanted his children and grandchildren to really understand his belief system and the manner in which he lived his life. I have read a few of his books, especially since his passing. He was brilliance personified. In fact, I had to read most pages several times over to fully grasp what he was saying. I found myself never agreeing with his viewpoint, but I marveled at the depth of research, the amount of sources he cited and how flawlessly the information was woven together. When I wrote Mirror of the Soul, I tried to match that depth of research, cited over fifty sources of my own and creatively tied everything together. I mirrored his thoroughness. 

My uncle was one of my dad’s best friends. They met in 1960 when they both enrolled in Saint Pius X Seminary in Dalton, PA. Initially, they were to be a part of the first class to be ordained in 1968. My uncle left the seminary early on, but my dad committed 7.5 years of his life to his studies there. He was only one day away from being ordained a Catholic deacon and six months away from becoming a priest when he left. My dad’s relatives attended the deacon ordination and were crying because Joey DeVizia was only six months shy of becoming a priest. They didn’t know until after the mass that he wasn’t even there that day! My dad later became the most accomplished man I have ever known in the field of mental health and human services. My father always had a knack for making other people feel good about themselves and the jobs they were doing. He had no greater love than serving his community and had a work ethic second to none. He went from being a social worker in the Luzerne County system to being the executive director of Mental Health/Mental Retardation. Upon completing his work at MH/MR, he was promoted to the executive director and later president of the Children’s Service Center of Wyoming Valley – a post he held for 26 years until the county commissioners recruited him to be the Director of Human Services for Luzerne County. 

My dad served on every committee, board of directors and association imaginable: Little League Assistant Coach, Cub Scouts Assistant Pack Leader, President of the Band Parents’ Association, Wilkes-Barre Sinfonia, MH/MR Advisory Board, Misericordia University’s Ethics Institute & Diversity Institute, VISION Shelter for the Homeless, Leadership Wilkes-Barre, Child Development Council, United Way of Wyoming Valley, Martin Luther King, Jr., Committee for Social Justice, Generation to Generation, Dinners for Kids, CCD Teacher in the Scranton Diocese, Permanent Diaconate Program Director, Board Member of Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, Luzerne Foundation, Pennsylvania Governor Mark Schweiker’s Early Childhood Care and Education Task Force (with Fred Rogers as Honorary Chairman, 2002), and Deacon in the Scranton Diocese (30 Years). He would attend one board meeting, and a colleague would get him involved on another project. He thrived on meeting new people and offering assistance to anyone that needed help. His advice to me was always work hard, play hard, pray hard and God will do the rest. His many hours of devoted service garnished him infinite accolades as well, which he never actively sought out. He was known for wearing colorful neckties, as opposed to being a highly-decorated, pretentious fop. He had hundreds of them – Peanuts, Looney Tunes, Spongebob, Garfield, Disney, etc. He wore an M&M’s tie underneath his alb when he performed my wedding ceremony. Because he encountered so many disturbed and mentally-challenged children in his work, the ties helped to brighten up some very tough days, and the kids loved them. The ties became synonymous with his personality. Recently, I began wearing glasses again, after having worn contact lenses for nearly 30 years. I purchased two different frames from Pair Eyewear. I love Pair because they offer magnetic toppers to suit every outfit imaginable. I have Peanuts, Disney and other fun toppers. When I wear them and my matching character outfits, I think of my dad and feel closer to him. 

In March of 2025, my dad was diagnosed with COVID and spent a few days in the hospital. Once he was released, his legs wouldn’t work well because he also suffers from Parkinson’s disease. He has been wheelchair-bound for over a year. It is really tough on him because he was the one that constantly visited the sick and homebound. His work day began at 4am and ended around 8pm, after making all his rounds to the hospitals and nursing homes. It is heart-wrenching to see someone that was so active become so inactive. 

Since I only see my family a few times a year, it is really difficult for me to process all of this from a distance. Last year, I opened a Newspapers.com account and began searching for as much information as I could find about my father’s life’s work because I wanted his only beloved grandchild, AJ, to know everything about my dad. When I was growing up in Wilkes-Barre, my dad was always in the newspaper, oftentimes making the front page. I spent several weeks collecting articles online, and when all was said and done, I printed the articles and filled a three-inch yellow binder. It was very impressive, and yellow is AJ’s favorite color. Some of the more impressive accolades were: Child Development Council’s Outstanding Award for Service (1986), United Way of Wyoming Valley Rose Brader Award (1988), Legion of Honor for the Chapel of the Four Chaplains (1986), Children’s Service Center Outstanding Commitment to Children Award (2006), King’s College Monsignor McGowan Cornerstone Award (2012), Pennsylvania Community Provider’s Association Marilyn Mennis Memorial Award (1997), and the Governor Robert P. Casey Lifetime of Service Award (2011). The mayor of Wilkes-Barre declared a couple of “Joseph F. DeVizia, Jr.” days as well. When my dad retired from Luzerne County Human Services, I packed up all the certificates and trophies in his office. It took all afternoon, and when I was finished, I went into his secretary’s office and cried my eyes out. As the frames were coming off the wall, I vividly remember him asking me to slow down a bit, but I have always been a very efficient worker – a trait I inherited from him! 

I tried to attend his awards ceremonies as often as possible, but time did not always permit me to do so. The two ceremonies I regret missing the most are the CDC Outstanding Award for Service and the Robert Casey Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1986, I didn’t attend the CDC luncheon because I was a sophomore in high school and had a Latin test that day. I had the highest Latin average in the class and did not want to ask my teacher if I could be excused. I also had a record of several years of perfect attendance that I did not want to break. When my teacher saw the article on the front page of the newspaper, he brought it to the back of the classroom where I was sitting & taking his test. He inquired as to why I was not there, and he was floored when I said that I had to take my Latin test. I was overwhelmed with guilt for months. On the night of the governor’s award ceremony, I was playing a job in New Jersey with the Jubilate Deo Chorale & Orchestra. I was in agony as I sat on that stage as well. My dad was always humbled by the accolades, so although he missed seeing me at the dinners, he never held my absences against me. I have always known how fortunate I am to be his daughter. His integrity is beyond measure and his heart is bigger than anyone’s that I have ever known. He’s a tough act to follow, and although I will never achieve his accolades, I continue to strive for excellence in all that I do. It is that spirit that I took with me when I moved to Philadelphia in 1992. 

Since moving from the “Valley with a Heart” to the big city, I have had to continuously prove myself in the professional music world. I have always been driven, but I don’t have an uptight, pretentious personality. I’m happy-go-lucky, very approachable and highly receptive to criticism. Because of the way I interact with people, most musicians assume that I don’t play very competitively – until they actually hear me. I studied flute with David Cramer, the former Associate Principal Flute of the Philadelphia Orchestra. He was astounded by my easy-going nature, especially since I worked harder than any student he ever had. After nine years under his tutelage, I embodied his musicianship. The best piece I ever played live and in concert was a piece I played with him – Friedrich Kuhlau’s Trio, op. 119 for Two Flutes and Piano (https://tdevizia.wixsite.com/website/music). I was completely “in the zone,” and it was heavenly. I credited him when I was selected as a semi-finalist in the 1994 Flute Talk Flute Competition. I was one of only 12 flutists nationwide selected to participate and the only one from the state of Pennsylvania. Michel Debost was one of the judges that day, a man that I had admired for everything he had accomplished as a French flutist. He personified French elegance, and when I spoke with him after the competition, he told me that he liked my playing. I was saddened to hear that he died last week. Those memories are so fresh in my mind, but 32 years have passed. The winner of that competition, Gaspar Hoyos, was from Colombia, South America. He had been studying at the University of North Texas and later became the principal flute of the Paris Opera. I still follow him on social media because he is a true gentleman. He wrote a stunning tribute to Michel Debost. When Gaspar won that 1994 competition, the best man won, and he proved that nice guys don’t finish last. 

Two years ago, the alma mater closest to my heart closed its doors – The University of the Arts. I earned my master’s degree there in 1994 when I was 23 years old. The graduate coordinator, Dr. Carl B. Schmidt was one of my greatest allies while I was a student there. I greatly respected Dr. Schmidt because of his vast knowledge of music history and superior writing skills. He had several books published by Oxford University Press. He had told me that I had presented the 2 best graduate recitals in his 15 year tenure at the school and that I had developed into a researcher second to none, which was the reason he named me winner of the Provost’s award for musical and academic excellence that year. It was bittersweet because the school was terminating the classical music department on the day of our graduation. Dr. Schmidt transferred to Towson University for the remainder of his career. The last piece of advice he gave me was to pursue a career in higher education and told me that I would make an outstanding college professor. I realized that dream 10 years later. I loved teaching at the Art Institute of Philadelphia and had found my niche being surrounded by commercial arts students every day. I was enjoying my lectures so much that I never intended to apply for an academic title, but my dad’s spirit of achievement was never far from my mind. When one of my best students ever called me “professor” for the first time, I took it as my personal challenge to truly earn that title. One of the happiest days of my life was the day I got the letter from the president of the college, which stated I had been elevated to “Associate Professor.” 

In my tenure as “Associate Professor” at the Art Institute, I played two chamber music concerts at the Free Library of Philadelphia, recorded a CD with a flutist colleague, which was featured on Kile Smith’s Now is the Time program on WRTI-HD2, and wrote my book, Mirror of the Soul. Immediately after my book was published, I met my husband, my mirror. I am now 55 years old. I actually don’t feel like I am beyond middle age. I feel like I am still that 23 year old kid that graduated from the University of the Arts with an entire lifetime left of things to accomplish. My husband wants to retire and play golf, but that drive to achieve is buried slightly below my surface.

In the last few years I have created my own website, created a YouTube channel, and have actually written a song with my dad, which has not yet been published. My dad asked me to collaborate with him during the COVID shutdown. He gave me a set of lyrics and asked me to compose the music, which, of course, I did. I wrote the piano accompaniment part and flute and trumpet parts. The song is entitled Strengthened by the Lord. The trumpet part mirrors the vocal line, and the flute line adds a counter melody. My brother and I actually played it at my aunt’s funeral in November of 2025. We sight read it with the organist after communion. It sounded pretty good, and when AJ heard it, he told me that he wanted to play an instrument because it was so beautiful. AJ is now seven years old and is a student at a Montessori school. He is very intelligent and his teachers say that he loves to help clean things up, and he has lots of empathy for others. Jay & I have been in awe of his intelligence for years. AJ started watching William Shatner’s Rescue 911 in PreK and loves to discuss the show Air Disasters with Uncle Jay. We visited a World War II museum with him last summer, and he was discussing the battles with my husband. When I read the comments that were written on his report card by his teachers, I told my dad that he inherited all those traits from his “Pop-Pop” (my dad). AJ’s natural instinct is just like Pop’s, and I pray that my dad gets to watch AJ succeed in everything he touches – just like Pop! In those newspaper articles, which I have been collecting over the past year, I have seen my dad referred to as a “saint on earth” and the “kind of man you meet for five minutes, but remember for a lifetime.” Dad, you have connected me with my “inner driver,” which is perhaps the best gift you have ever given me. In the spirit of the song we wrote together, I ask the Lord Jesus to strengthen you and to grant you many more years of good health. I ask this with a heartful of love and gratitude. God bless you!!!