Obituary
Elvira D’Emilio Kight, Vera to all who knew her, passed away at the Halifax Health Hospice Care Center in Port Orange on July 5 with her husband, Don, at her side. Vera was 79. Vera was born in the Bronx and moved to Daytona Beach with her parents Emil (“Jack”) and Josephine (“Bobbie”) D’Emilio. Despite living here for over 60 years, she always remained a proud Italian New Yorker in her heart. A 1955 graduate of Mainland High School, Vera worked in banking for several years and met her husband when she used to walk past his barber shop on her way to work. They married in 1959 and had two children, Dona and Joseph. Vera expertly handled all administrative operations for a family business for many years until she joined Halifax Health Medical Center in 1990. Known for both her legendary attention to detail and her outgoing disposition, Vera was awarded Employee of the Year in 2003. She retired in 2008 and remained close with her many friends from Halifax, especially her “Thursday Night” gang she kept together for nearly 14 years. A member of the Catholic Church of the Epiphany, Vera was particularly close to her “sisters” on Team 9 of the “Christ Renews His Parish” retreat program. Vera and Don both made many wonderful friends when they moved to Crane Lakes where Vera was often seen walking vigorously for several miles around the community. She also enjoyed watching championship tennis and British TV and was a volunteer at the Lilian Place Heritage Center. Vera will be best remembered for how passionately she truly loved her family and friends as well as her much-doted-upon cats. Vera Kight is survived by her two children and her husband of 58 years, Claude D. “Don” Kight; her brother Joseph D’Emilio and his wife Ruby of Brunswick, GA, and their children Patricia, Denise, and Michael; her aunt Helen Borgia of Atlanta, GA; cousins Mary and Heather Savage of Tobyhanna, PA, and Wiley Lautenschlager of Port Orange; and close friends who became family, Elaine D’Amore (Tillard) and Gerri D’Amore (Beck), and their mother Lucille D’Amore. Vera will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by her many friends throughout the Daytona Beach area and beyond. A memorial service for Vera will be held at the Catholic Church of the Epiphany in Port Orange on Saturday, July 22 at 10:00am with an informal reception to follow at the church. Before her passing, Vera requested that donations be made in her name to the Epiphany repair and maintenance fund. Interment of ashes will be at a future date. Arrangements are in the care and trust of Baldwin Brothers Funeral and Cremation Society, Port Orange.
Your mother truly touched my life. I remember the Christmas caroling we did as Brownies. I often would think about your mom as I passed by your old neighborhood. Blessing to you, Joe, and your dad.