QUEROLI, JOHN D.

Family and friends gathered recently on Sunset Beach in Cape May Point, N.J. to celebrate the life of John D. Queroli of West Cape May, an avid surf fisherman, who died July 27, 2009, a few days before his 93rd birthday. Formerly of Broomall, Mr. Queroli was born in Atlantic City, the son of the late Robert and Stella Queroli, and raised in West Philadelphia. He was a champion tennis player at West Philadelphia High School and continued to play well into his retirement years. His love of tennis was surpassed only by his passion for surf fishing, which evolved over the years as he visited his mother-in-law in West Cape May, beginning in the mid-1940s. He and his wife, Matilda (Spears) Queroli, who died in 1984, retired to West Cape May in 1979. Mr. Queroli was a familiar figure on the jetties at Cape May Point and Cape May becoming well-known for his knowledge of and success at the sport. In fact, a local newspaper column, “From Jetty To Shore by the “REEL Salt” reported in 1965 that “John ‘Champ’ Queroli had a catch of 17 sea trout off the Cape May Point beach”. Indeed, his favorite spot was along Sunset Beach. He also enjoyed fishing trips with his friends to Cape Cod and Cape Hatteras. After graduation from high school, Mr. Queroli worked for the Civilian Conservation Corps, a “peacetime army”, begun in 1933 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt after the Great Depression to provide vocational training for young men and put them to work preserving and developing the nation’s natural resources. After he left the CCC, Mr. Queroli trained to be a master electrician and joined the IBEW, Local 98, where he was a member for more than 60 years. During that time he worked on many of Philadelphia’s Center City high rise buildings. Mr. Queroli inspired his friends and family with his zest for knowledge, his determination to be active and in charge of his life, and his ongoing interest in current affairs and sports, remaining up-to-date and conversant in both until the time of his death. He loved nature and wildlife and delighted his family with stories of his adventures in fishing, both of the ones he caught and the “ones that got away”. With his wit and gentle nature, he captivated all ages, from his nieces and nephews to his grand nieces and nephews and his great nieces and nephews. Mr. Queroli was preceded in death by his brother, Robert Queroli, and is survived by six nephews and nieces and their children and grandchildren.