Meet Father Daughter Duo Joe & Jennifer
The Defilippi family is an integral part of our local community, with three generations of this lovely family being connected to PFP! Joe, his daughter Jennifer, and his granddaughter Melanie have been a part of our vibrant Austin community for just over a year now, and we couldn’t be more grateful that they are!!
Joe, currently 85 years old, has been living with Parkinson’s for 23 years. Originally from Pennsylvania, he moved to Austin a year ago to live with his daughter Jennifer and her family, and is proud to say that he survived his first Austin summer in one piece! When he arrived in Austin, Joe was very keen to keep his movement routine going, and that is where PFP entered the life of the Defilippi family! Joe attends in-person classes twice a week in Austin and also enjoys our YouTube channel as a way to keep moving when he is at home.
According to Joe, PFP has really won over his heart, and he is so impressed by how proactive the program is in not only improving people’s physical function but also their quality of life through support groups and lunch gatherings. He loves how, in every class, he is getting not just a workout for his body but also a pretty intense workout for his brain! In just a year of moving with PFP, Joe has noticed significant improvements in his overall function. He was previously struggling to use a computer mouse due to his tremors and decreased coordination, but has since been able to resume spending time on the computer and now uses the mouse with so much more ease!
Jennifer, Joe’s dedicated daughter, has been a wonderful support to him as he adjusts to life in Austin. She accompanies her dad to his PFP classes and was actually the one who found us in the first place! Initially, it was quite shocking for Jennifer to have both her father and then her mother, a few years later, diagnosed with PD. Her mother passed unexpectedly five years ago, leaving Joe on his own in Pittsburgh and Jennifer finding it increasingly difficult to care for him from afar. Now that they are together again in Austin, Jennifer is really enjoying having Joe around and seeing him get to spend so much more time with his four grandchildren. Between attending swim meets, football and basketball games, gymnastics competitions, and tennis tournaments, Joe is his grandchildren’s biggest cheerleader!! Melanie, one of Joe’s grandchildren, even joined in with the PFP FUN when she was a high school senior and would volunteer regularly at classes. Seeing her kids and her father grow closer has really been a special experience for Jennifer!!
One final interesting fact about our friend Joe is that he worked for U.S. Steel for 43 years before retiring from the role of Director of Product Development in 2009. A career highlight was when he partnered with the United States Luge Olympic Team to help them improve their equipment efficiency. Joe helped make changes to the part of the sled that is in contact with the ice, which led to the US winning silver and bronze in the 2014 & 2018 Winter Olympics!! Well done, Joe!!
Joe & Jennifer, you have supported PFP immensely since you joined our mighty community, and we are so thankful to have you with us. We are looking forward to more PFP FUN with you in the future!!