by Tom Bell

Vincent "Vinny" A. DiFillipo Sr., who rose up the ranks at the Portland Fire Department and retired as deputy chief in 2010, died on Dec. 22. He was 63. He was devoted to the Fire Department, his family and his friends, said his wife, Joyce DiFillipo. "If you had him as a friend, you had him forever," she said. "He was somebody you could count on no matter what."

Mr. DiFillipo grew up in a large Italian-American family on Rudman Road in Portland. It was clear at an early age that he would grow up to be a fireman, said his older sister, Marta Voci of Plymouth, Massachusetts. She said her brother was a big-hearted man who laughed easily, loved his family and had a large and devoted circle of friends. "He was someone you could always count on," she said. "Anybody who had him as a friend was a lucky person."

Read more

Source: http://www.pressherald.com/