Dudley Joseph DeCastro’s loved ones agree that he was a man who led by example throughout his life.

  DeCastro, 93, lived in Henry County from 1995 to 2013, after retiring in 1988. He passed away on September 10, in Dallas, Ga.

  Among his list of accolades, DeCastro served in the United States Marine Corps, in the Fourth Wing Air Division. He was stationed in the Marshall Islands in the Pacific from 1944-46.

  His oldest son, Dudley A. DeCastro, said the veteran kept quiet about his time in the war.

  “He didn’t brag about it,” he said. “He wouldn’t talk about it unless you asked him specific questions.”

  Dudley A. DeCastro, 72, of Atlanta, said his dad was a kind and generous man who maintained a low profile about his litany of talents.

  “He was that way all his life,” the son said. “There wasn’t really anything he couldn’t do. If he tore it apart, he could put it back together.”

  Dudley J. DeCastro was married for 66 years to his wife Mildred, who passed away in 2013. After retiring, DeCastro focused on woodworking – making shelves, tables, potty chairs and rocking chairs, as well as hope chests, wooden trash cans, and wooden cabinets.

  Dudley A. DeCastro said his mother contributed her talents to these efforts along the way as well.

  “After he made the merchandise, my mother would hand-paint names and pictures on them,” he said. “Some of the potty chairs went overseas to families in other countries.”

  The DeCastros’ oldest son described his parents as positive role models.

  “My wife and I just celebrated out 51st anniversary in January,” said Dudley A. DeCastro. “So the example they set, we learned from that.”

  Dudley J. DeCastro worked as a machinist, and wore several hats during his life. He once cut bulletproof glass for former President Richard Nixon’s limousine, and designed walkways at Disney World in Orlando, Fla. He also worked as a taxi driver, a glass cutter, and sheet metal worker during his lifetime.

  The DeCastros had four biological children. Their adopted daughter, Margie Duesenberry, 68, lives in Ohio and was not available for comment.

  Doreen Jeanneret, 68, of Dallas, Ga., the oldest daughter born to the DeCastros, said her parents met at St. Mary’s Grade School in Akron, Ohio.

  “She was 12 years old, and he was 14,” said Jeanneret. “He decided to walk her home from school. He came up behind her and grabbed her books from her arm, and told her he was going to walk her home and he was going to marry her.”

  Jeanneret said despite her dad’s confident approach, it took some time for him to win her mother over.

  “She didn’t like him because she thought he was too aggressive,” said Jeanneret. “But after him walking her home every night, she gave in. After he walked her home, he ran home, and it was three miles away. He also told all the other guys to leave her alone.”

  From then on, the two were an item and were only separated when Dudley DeCastro went into the military.

  The DeCastros eloped in Middleport, Ohio in 1946. Their youngest daughter, Vicki Keirns of Locust Grove, said her parents, upon raising children, always strived to put family first.

  “I know that there were times when they were upset with each other,” said Keirns, 66. “But, I never heard them argue, and they taught me unconditional love.”

  Jeanneret added that in 1956, DeCastro built their family home “from the ground up.”

  “He taught himself how to do it from reading books from the library,” she said. “He also was very humble. He never boasted about anything he did, and he never complained.”

  DeCastro’s youngest son, Ronald, said his father taught him valuable lessons in life.

  “Being the youngest, I was really spoiled,” said Ronald DeCastro, 63, of Rockmart, Ga. “When I did something wrong, he would always say, if you did something wrong, you have to make it right.”

  Ronald DeCastro revealed the time that he and a friend, as children, shot BB guns at a neighbor’s house, damaging the neighbor’s vehicle in the process.

  “He took us to court, and mom and dad had to pay $40, and so did the other parents,” said DeCastro. “My father never yelled at me for it. He just said I had to make it right. I worked odd jobs and paid it back. I was so blessed with a father like that. He was always a gentleman with how he handled things diplomatically.”

  In addition to his other achievements, Dudley J. DeCastro is also recognized for building the fuel line for the Gemini satellite rocket. Ronald DeCastro said his dad – a four-time cancer survivor – was not one to broadcast his successes in life. He said many people – including family – were unaware of those achievements until they read the man’s obituary.

  Ronald DeCastro said his dad had a joke for everyone he met, loved life and loved making people smile.

  “He lived his life in God’s eyes, and he always wanted to do what was right,” he said. “He would never carry a grudge on anyone. He just tried to be a good man.”