Joe DeLio hung around ice rinks for almost 40 years and knew nearly everything about skaters and their skates.
His wife skates, and his daughters were in the Ice Capades. He used to flood his backyard to make an ice rink for his kids and the neighbors’ kids.
But DeLio was no skater. He was the “blade doctor,” as Olympic champion Scott Hamilton called him.
“Our daughters would have to tell him which foot to be on,” said his wife, Peggy DeLio.
DeLio, who died of leukemia March 24, six days before turning 84, sharpened blades for four Olympic and seven world champion skaters, skaters from several countries and thousands of other people.
A service is planned today at 4:30 p.m. at Trinity United Methodist Church, 18th Avenue and Broadway.
Adding his own magic
Working in a small office at the back of an ice rink, he sharpened more than 75,000 skates over the years, often telling customers, “No extra charge for the magic.” He believed kids would skate better if they thought he’d put magic into their skates.
In fact, Paul Wylie, who won a silver medal in the 1992 Olympics, said, “Joe was a genius. He had a magic touch. It was incredible.”
DeLio, whose first career was in Denver Public Schools – teaching and counseling – took up sharpening before retiring, employing skills and machinery he’d used in gem polishing and jewelry making.
DeLio worked for years at South Suburban Ice Rink and later at the Colorado Ice Arena.
Skaters swore by his work and would FedEx their blades to him, often having him sharpen more than one pair if they were en route to a competition.
New skates also had to be sharpened, said Wylie, who sometimes had his skates sharpened every three or four weeks.
Beyond sharpening, DeLio wanted to hear how his customers were doing and asked questions about their lives, schools and jobs while they watched him at the sharpening wheel, said Wylie, who now lives in Charlotte, N.C. “He cared about us.”
The trick, according to Peggy DeLio, was to make the two parallel blades exactly even. Skaters would tell DeLio how deep they wanted the space, called a hollow, between the blades.
He kept records of each skater’s preferences, according to a 1975 Denver Post story.
“Black Hunger March” survivor
Joseph DeLio was born in Denver on March 30, 1923, graduated from Fort Lupton High School and then joined the U.S. Army Air Corps.
His bomber was shot down over Europe during World War II, and he evaded capture for 10 days. While imprisoned in a part of Germany that’s now in Poland, he, along with 10,000 other prisoners, was forced on the “Black Hunger March” for 82 days. He was liberated in 1945.
DeLio used cigarette wrappers and pipe cleaners to make a small book in which he listed every town they marched through. His family still has that book.
DeLio earned a bachelor’s and two master’s degrees at the University of Northern Colorado.
He married Peggy Prokesh on Sept. 1, 1955. She taught their daughters to skate when they were only 3. Peggy DeLio stages ice shows at South Suburban Ice Rink each spring.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by daughters Kitty DeLio and Becky DeLio-Trampler, both of Denver, and Heidi Thibert of Fort Collins; and four grandchildren.
Staff writer Virginia Culver can be reached at 303-954-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com.
