Apple Valley’s first mayor, Nick DePrisco, to be laid to rest

As the top vote-getter, council candidate Nicholas “Nick” DePrisco, Jr. earned the role of mayor for the newly incorporated Town of Apple Valley in 1988.

DePrisco went on to lead the newly formed council as they laid out the town’s foundation, organization and future.

“The fact that people voted for incorporation and me is a vote of confidence,” DePrisco told the Daily Press at the time. “I’m going to try to live up to it.”

On Sept. 29, DePrisco, 75, died in Laguna Woods after battling pancreatic cancer, his daughter, Berkeley DePrisco said.

Laying Apple Valley’s foundation

DePrisco was born in Queens, New York to Nicholas and Gloria DePrisco. He would later graduate from Smithtown High School on Long Island.

DePrisco moved to Apple Valley in 1980.

During DePrisco’s win in November 1988, Apple Valley became incorporated after receiving 83.4% or 10,683 votes. After the election, the town became the 21st city in San Bernardino County.

While serving on council, DePrisco was the voice for larger-lot sizes and wide setbacks for new developments, as reflected in the Town’s motto of, “A Better Way of Life.”

He, along with Mayor Pro Tem Heidi Larkin, and council members Dick Pearson, Carl Coleman and Jack Collingsworth, established environmental protections to preserve the unique character of the area.

Additionally, they established half-acre lot sizes, transplanting Joshua trees facing removal by new developments, a three-dumpster recycling program, collecting Christmas trees for mulch, and relocating above-ground telephone wires to underground.

DePrisco remained on town council until 1996.

In addition to serving the Apple Valley community, DePrisco worked as a San Bernardino County public defender.

A life time of public service

DePrisco graduated from Western State College of Law in San Diego and was a graduate of Cal State Hayward. He went on to serve as San Bernardino public defender, working out of the Victorville office.

DePrisco also had a private practice with attorney Robert Ponce in Victorville, and a practice in Ladera Ranch in Orange County.

Later in life, DePrisco taught criminal law at Victor Valley College and served two terms as president of the Victor Valley Democratic Club.

He was a member of the former Apple Valley Country Club, where he enjoyed tennis and “breakfast with the boys.” He referred to himself as “too young to play golf,” however, he took up the sport when he retired from private practice, longtime friend Carla DePrisco Maciag, said.

Rooted in family

Berkeley said she remembers going to baseball games with her dad as a child. She would sit in stadium seats upside down with a piece of cotton candy in her hand.

“He always said I could eat the entire stadium and we joked about that up to this year,” she said.

DePrisco loved to travel and practice speaking Spanish, according to his loved ones.

On a trip to Italy, he learned he was born into a family of attorneys beginning with his great-grandfather. He also discovered that his family, who were also candlemakers for the Catholic Church, relocated from Naples to the mountains.

Berkeley said she will miss calling her dad to talk about her night shifts in the ER working as a registered nurse. The two were close, and bonded over the music of singer Bruce Springsteen. They would have car karaoke, singing “Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)” and “Thunder Road,” she said.

“My Dad was my soccer coach, my horseback riding trainer, my music mentor, and the root of my witty humor,” Berkeley said. “My Dad and I loved going to baseball games, soccer games, and even the U.S. Open Tennis Championships.”

DePrisco favorite genres to rock out to were blues and classic rock, his daughter said.

“When my dad would play the keyboard, everybody in the room could feel the electricity, he was a rockstar,” she said. “Keep rocking out in peace, Dad.”

Celebration of Life

DePrisco is survived by his daughter, Berkeley; two sisters, Barbara Cozza and Carol Stoerback, and brother, Bill DePrisco; brother-in-law, Vincent; several nieces, nephews, cousin and “good friend of 55 years," Carla DePrisco Maciag.

DePrisco’s Celebration of Life is scheduled from 1 to 4 p.m on Saturday, Nov. 4 at The Republic Restaurant at 13261 Spring Valley Parkway No. 102 in Spring Valley Lake, his daughter said.

DePrisco will be laid to rest during a private ceremony.

The family is asking that in lieu of flowers, to donate to the Pancreatic Cancer Action network.

Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Apple Valley’s first mayor, Nick DePrisco, to be laid to rest