Pete Humphrey Carrubba

Pete H. Carrubba , a well respected and longtime coast resident, was reunited with his beloved wife of sixty-two years, Dorothy Files Carrubba on May 30, 2014. Mr. Carrubba , christened Onofrio Pietro Carrubba, was the middle child of five sons born to Gaspare and Virginia Carrubba on December 3, 1919 and according to his mother, he was her most expensive child costing close to fifty dollars. Pete was a 1934 graduate of St. Thomas Catholic School and a 1938 graduate of Long Beach High School. He entered into the United States Armed Air Forces in 1942 where after basic training he immediately was assigned to Officer Candidate School at Camp David, North Carolina and eventually assigned to the 837th Antiaircraft Artillery Separate Battalion as an assistant platoon commander at Fort Sheridan, Illinois. Pete was eventually reassigned to the 13th Replacement Depot in Waiwas, Hawaii. He was separated from the Armed Forces with the rank of captain on June 26, 1946 but remained in the Armed Forces Reserves until recalled to extended active duty in 1952. Decorations and citations received were the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal and the Victory Medal World War II. While in the Reserves, he received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1950 from Tulane University and a Bachelor of Law degree in 1952 from the University of Mississippi, Oxford. While attending Tulane, Pete was employed for a year as a special election agent by the National Labor Relations Board to conduct elections at various employers in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi to determine collective bargaining representatives and as a taxi cab driver in New Orleans. When a service related injury stopped him from going to Korea, he began a law practice in Long Beach and Gulfport that lasted thirty-seven years. Mr. Carrubba practiced in the State Courts of Mississippi, the Federal District Courts and the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals; he was well-known for his expertise in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Maritime Law. During his career, he was also City Attorney for Long Beach for a total of twenty-five years. Toward the end of his law career, he was a partner in the law firm of Dukes, Carrubba, and Dukes. Professional, Civic and Church affiliations include Phi Alpha Delta, Long Beach Lions (former president), Long Beach Chamber of Commerce (past president), Mississippi Coast Council of Chambers of Commerce (past president), Knights of Columbus #4898 (past Grand Knight, three years), Trustee of Father John O’Connor 4th Degree Assembly, Master of Ceremonies for the Long Beach Carnival Association’s carnival ball for many years, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks Lodge 978, Veterans of Foreign Wars # 3937, American Legion Post No. 1995, and Life Member Veal Chapter No. 5 Disabled American Veterans. Friends and family remember him as the entertainer, the encyclopedic story teller, the dancer, the singer, the determined attorney and advocate, the prayer-filled person and the confidant that you could talk to at all hours of the night and day. As important as his family and community were to him, Mr. Carrubba lived his faith and his church. He was baptized at St. Thomas Catholic Church in Long Beach on December 7, 1919 and for all of his 94 years was faithful and faith-filled. He began his formal service to the Church as an altar boy when he could barely speak English and ended his long time Lector for Masses when he became too debilitated to serve. Whether in times of happiness, despair, peace or turmoil, Pete would remember his Lord in prayer. Mr. Carrubba was predeceased by his loving wife, his parents, a granddaughter Sarah Ridnour, and his four brothers, Paul , Paulino, Ben, and Benjamin Carrubba. He is survived by his five children, Peter (Karen) Carrubba, Kathryn (Jim) Matthews, Raymond Carrubba, Marilyn (Gary) Franke, and Clayton (Peggy) Carrubba , and his grandchildren Laura, Becca, Bruce, Savannah, Matt, Dustin, Micah, Meredith, Sarah, Ruth, Angie and Johnny along with fourteen great-grandchildren. The family wishes to express their utmost gratitude to the staffs of the Dixie White House in Pass Christian and the Niagara Unit especially Bobby, Keisha, Kat, Suwanna, David, Rosa, and Tish of the Community Living Center at the Veteran’s Administration Hospital in Biloxi for the loving care, respect, and patience shown to their father. Heartfelt thanks to Mary Lee and Chaplain Morris for their assistance in providing the opportunity for our father to say good-bye to our mother. Visitation will be Friday morning, June 6, 2014 from 8:30 to 9:30 at St. Thomas Catholic Church in Long Beach with the Celebration of the Mass of Christian Burial at 9:30 and interment at the Biloxi National Cemetery immediately following. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials in their father’s name may be made to the St. Vincent de Paul Society at St. Thomas Catholic Church or a charity of your choice. Bradford-O'Keefe Funeral Home, 15th Street, Gulfport is in charge of arrangements