Victor J. Castagna

Victor Castagna of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania and formerly of Beverly Hills, California, passed away at Chester County Hospital on Thursday, August 22, 2024.  He was 84 years old.  Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he was the son of Victor P. Castagna and Dolores Castagna (nee O'Neill).

He was the husband of Jane Castagna (nee Kantor) who predeceased him in 2019; beloved brother of Emil P. Castagna, Rosemary D. Powell (Jim) and the late Anthony Castagna; stepfather of Jason Kantor.  He is also survived by nephews, Jim, Jr. (Misun), Michael, Daniel (Joela), David; nieces, Suzanne (Kevin), Katie (Tony) and numerous cousins.

Victor had an interesting and eclectic life.  After his father placed on a pony for a ride at 4 years of age,  he knew that horses had to be in his life.  He eventually became a jockey and rode for ten years.  As he grew older, keeping his weight down was becoming detrimental to his health and he had to abandon his love of horse racing.

After leaving the racetrack, he went into business with his father in the tailoring business where they made custom tailored clothing for men and women.  Additionally, while working in his business, he attended Temple University and earned his bachelor's degree.

We were surprised that, his next endeavor, was to become a licensed mortician and funeral director.  He worked for Levine Funeral Home and the D'Anjolell Funeral Homes where he was invaluable and successful caring for families at their time of need.

After the death of his father, he then decided to try his luck at becoming an actor and moved to Beverly Hills, California.  He acted mostly within "independent films" and even tried his hand at writing screenplays.  Becoming an actor is not an easy endeavor and to supplement his income he fell back on his experience in custom tailoring and worked as a specialist in fittings for customers purchasing custom made suits for Brooks Brothers on Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles.

Victor retired in 2016 and moved back to the east coast to live with his brother Emil in the Traditions at Longwood community in Kennett Square.

A viewing will be from 9:00AM to 10:00AM on Thursday, August 29, 2024 at the LONGWOOD FUNERAL HOME & CREMATION of MATTHEW GENEREUX, 913 East Baltimore Pike, Kennett Square.  A Funeral Mass will be offered at 10:30AM at St. Patrick Catholic Church, 212 Meredith Street in Kennett Square.  Burial in Sts. Peter & Paul Cemetery will be private, per the family wishes.

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