John T. DiLiegro, owner of John’s Service Station in Linden Square, was honored for his 47 years of ownership of the well-known business located in Linden Square near the Revere-Malden line.
Councillor-at-Large Dan Rizzo presented a congratulatory proclamation to DiLiegro during a ceremony at the full-service gas station and motor vehicle repair business on what was DiLiegro’s final day as owner of John’s Service Station. The business will remain in existence under new ownership.
Rizzo praised DiLiegro for his superb, five-decade stewardship of the business.
“For close to 50 years, John has touched so many Revere families in a positive way and helping so many people,” said Rizzo. “I just talked to one of his customers this morning and he said that he taken his car here for everything, from an inspection sticker to a transmission, and John’s Service Station
has always figured out a way to help him.”
Rizzo stated while presenting the proclamation on behalf of the City of Revere to Mr. DiLiegro during a brief by heartfelt ceremony, “I just want to take a little opportunity here to recognize John and his family for all they’ve meant to the City of Revere. We’re obviously going to miss his presence here. We’ll still see his face at the station, but he’s had a tremendous run.”
Mr. DiLiegro purchased the gas station in 1976. “I had always worked as a mechanic, and then I bought this business,” said DiLiegro. “I thought it [the purchase price] was a lot of money back then. Now I can’t buy one pump for what I paid.”
Asked what the key ingredients were for running such a successful business, DiLiegro offered, “I just worked seven days a week. I think in all the years I’ve been here, I took three weeks off for vacation, that’s about it.”
He also noted that John’s Service Station’s staff pumps the gas for motor vehicle owners, as opposed to the many self-service gas stations in the area.
For many years at the station, Mr. DiLiegro was assisted by his son, John T. DiLiegro Jr. “He’s the one who really built up the business,” said Mr. DiLiegro. “John worked here since he was 11 years old.”
John DiLiegro Jr. died on February 16, 2022, at the age of 49 after a courageous battle with gliobastoma.
Mr. DiLiegro also has two daughers, Kristin Galli and Karen DiLiegro, and seven grandchildren.
Dominic DiLiegro, who has worked at the station, lauded his grandfather’s career as an outstanding business owner, commenting, “It was a heckuva run.”
