Joe DiLabio
Larry Wolfe
A native of Sault Ste. Marie, Canada, Joe DiLabio was a member of the Northern Ontario provincial high school football champions, playing corner linebacker. He’s been very active in a wide range of sports during his entire life, starting with Little League baseball, then fastpitch softball, intramural sports in college, ice hockey and curling (after all, he is Canadian!), squash, soccer, running, and now pickleball, core training, and senior softball!
After graduating from Queen’s University in 1986 with a degree in chemical engineering, Joe started his career in the oil and gas industry in Fort McMurray, Alberta. He spent three years there before relocating to Edmonton where he and his wife Abby have lived ever since. As you might guess, Joe met Abby at a sporting event, a squash tournament. At the time, Abby was president of a squash club, and she asked Joe to serve as the treasurer. And the rest is history! The DiLabios have two daughters, Bianca and Adriana. No grandkids, but they do have grand-puppies!
Joe spent his entire career in the oil and gas sector in a wide variety of positions with several companies. About half of those were in sales, but he also held management positions in manufacturing, operations, and procurement. He, along with five others, also founded their own company in that industry, growing it from a true start-up to $100 million in revenues over a 10-year period before selling out to a larger company. Joe’s career required that he travel extensively. There was lots of windshield time and a lot of flying all around North America. He says that he is so thankful for Abby, as she not only worked full time in a very demanding career of her own but took care of the kids and everything else while he was “on the road.”
Over their years together, Joe and Abby have continued being very active in multiple sports. Joe even ran a full marathon in 1992. Abby claims he did marathon training to get out of taking care of their first child! They’ve also been doing core training two or three times per week for the past 10-plus years.
The DiLabios have been coming to Arizona for over 14 years. While they were working, they did shorter duration visits but have now been full-time snowbirds since they purchased a home in Oakwood in 2021. They’re both enjoying the snowbird life in Sun Lakes, with Joe really getting into pickleball and returning to softball. Even with his self-described “expiring knees,” Joe’s one of our top players, hitting for both power and average while exhibiting his defensive skills in the outfield.
Joe loves to cook, and in every home that they’ve owned there’s been a major renovation associated with the kitchen. A specialty of his is BBQing, smoking, and deep-frying turkeys. He’s done more than 100! International travel is another focus. They’ve been to over 20 different countries and hope to visit many more in the future. Sounds like the DiLabios will have no problem keeping busy in retirement!