SPORTS

Special night helps Del Zotto honor 'Nonna Luisa'

Dave Isaac
@davegisaac

PHILADELPHIA — Michael Del Zotto can still remember that night when he was 9 and woke up in the middle of the night in a panic.

Perhaps coincidence, perhaps something bigger, Del Zotto told his mother the next day what time it was when he looked at the clock and was floored hearing that’s when his grandmother had passed.

“It happened to be the exact time,” Del Zotto recalled.

His mother was at the hospital when he woke up.

“It’s kind of creepy how that happened,” he said. “I remember my mom coming home that day in tears. It was a tough couple weeks for the family, especially her. It was a tough time.”

Luisa Valente beat breast cancer at age 40. It came back a couple decades later and spread, claiming her at age 64. She was a huge part of her grandson’s life. Del Zotto’s paternal grandparents lived with him, his parents and siblings. Next door were his aunt, uncle and maternal grandparents.

Growing up in an Italian family, the Del Zotto clan was close, and not just geographically.

“The personality she had could lift up a room,” Del Zotto said. “It was pretty impressive. Having her around all the time, it didn’t get the best of her. She was always in good spirits, and obviously the second time it got her.”

Saturday the Flyers had their annual “Hockey Fights Cancer” night. Each NHL team picks a home game in October to “raise money and awareness for hockey's most important fight.” Since the program’s inception in 1998, the NHL and its charitable foundations, supporters and fans have donated more than $15 million for the cause. The Flyers wore purple jerseys in warmups that are getting auctioned off for charity.

It’s a “special night” for Del Zotto to honor his grandmother, someone who remains a big part of his life.

“We talk about her all the time,” the Stouffville, Ontario native said. “Every time I go back home we always go visit her (grave). Family is everything. It’s not something we forget about. That’s for sure.”

Unfortunately, the number of stories for those affected by cancer is growing. Just in the past month, free-agent signee with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms Logan Pyett was diagnosed with sarcoma. The 27-year-old defenseman, who is undergoing chemotherapy four days a week, was in attendance Saturday.

“I think it’s something that has affected all of us in one way, shape or form, whether it be through family or through friends,” Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said. “Some have been affected more closely than others. It’s a great cause for us to not just help raise funds for, but continue to raise that awareness to work towards finding a cure.”

Del Zotto’s grandmother passed away late September 1999, so the team’s Hockey Fights Cancer night is close to the anniversary of her passing. Even if he hadn’t taken warmups in a purple jersey, “Nonna Luisa” would have still been on his mind.

“I would see her pretty much every day,” Del Zotto said. “You don’t remember a lot from your childhood, but with the family, how close we were, I remember a lot of my childhood. Any time my parents were gone, I had my grandparents around and they loved us like we were their own kids.”

Dave Isaac; (856) 486-2479; disaac@gannettnj.com