For Monica and Joe DePaolo, their Broomall home has become much more than a place on a map. Over the past decade, it’s been the backdrop for family memories, busy careers, countless soccer games, neighborhood traditions and friendships. They are deeply woven into the fabric of Marple Newtown and embracing the life that comes with putting down roots here.
Monica grew up in Delaware County. She attended Our Lady of Fatima in Secane and Cardinal O’Hara High School, graduating in 2006. She remembers her time at Cardinal O’Hara fondly. “I never liked to be the center of attention,” she said. “But I have fond memories of going to support others at the shows, football games, basketball games, soccer, track… everything.” During high school she also participated in the Community Service Corp., spending time each week with women living at Divine Providence Village, a residential facility for women with intellectual disabilities.
After high school, Monica went on to study at Misericordia University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Health Science, a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy and a minor in Psychology. “The University’s emphasis on mercy, service, justice and hospitality strongly influenced me,” she recalled. Her college experience included Best Buddies, service-learning projects and opportunities to serve communities in Jamaica, Sacramento and Wilkes-Barre. In Jamaica, she helped make environmental modifications at a senior center, assisted with church
renovations and created developmentally appropriate play activities for children in an orphanage. In Sacramento, she served people experiencing homelessness and extreme poverty, while in Wilkes-Barre she helped develop programming for women living in an emergency shelter.
Those experiences dovetailed naturally with the work she eventually chose. Today, Monica works as an early intervention occupational therapist, helping infants and toddlers from birth to age three develop the skills they need to play, eat, move, learn and connect with others. What she finds most rewarding is not simply helping a child. “I love helping a family become confident in supporting their child’s development,” she said. “It’s beautiful to be welcomed into someone’s home and get to witness their child grow. The parent is the biggest change agent for their development.”
Joe’s path has also been shaped by his interests in history, education and athletics. He attended St. Agnes Sacred Heart School in Hilltown before graduating from Pennridge High School, where he played four years of soccer and participated in Model UN. Joe also attended Misericordia, earning a bachelor’s degree in History with a minor in Social Studies. He played intramural soccer and founded the Lake Street Elite, a college athletics supporters group. Today, he is pursuing a master’s degree in secondary education with a concentration in history from Gwynedd Mercy University.
Professionally, Joe works as a Special Agent for a law enforcement agency with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. But it is perhaps through soccer that Joe has become most involved in the Marple Newtown community. Joe is the Director of Coaching for Marple Newtown Soccer Association, where he coaches both of his sons’ travel teams. At MNSA Joe founded the FC3 Premier program, a total soccer experience that mimics training done at elite regionally based soccer clubs right here at our community club. Each FC3 Premier team features a professional coach and is focused on high quality player development in a year-round competitive environment. The goal of this program is to keep local kids playing for their community based club and to create a consistent feeder program for Marple Newtown’s scholastic soccer teams at Paxon Hollow Middle School and Marple Newtown
High School.
Joe has also been the Varsity Boys Soccer Coach at Marple Newtown High School since 2019, after previously coaching eighth-grade soccer at Paxon Hollow Middle School. The program has become a source of tremendous pride. In 2020, Joe was named Central League Coach of the Year by opposing coaches. In 2024, Marple Newtown became the first boys soccer team in school history to reach the PIAA District One Championship game.
For Joe, though, the most meaningful part isn’t necessarily the wins.“Coaching has given me an incredible opportunity to become more connected to our community,” he said. “There is a real sense of pride that comes with watching young people grow through the program.” Seeing former players succeed in college, or simply become good people who remain connected to the community, is what makes the experience especially rewarding.
“Being able to play a small role in that journey, while representing the place where I live, means a lot to me and my family,” he added. Joe also serves as a volunteer board member for Marple Township Little League.
Monica and Joe met during their sophomore year at Misericordia University. They began dating in the fall of 2008, during the Phillies’ memorable postseason run. “Phillies games weren’t always readily available on television in northeastern Pennsylvania, so we spent plenty of time together finding places to watch the games,” they said. Their first date even ended with an unexpected bonus: fireworks.“It was a positive beginning to our story,” Monica recalled. “The World Series just a few weeks later was a good start, too.”
After college, both returned to their respective family homes, Joe to Perkasie and Monica to Briarcliffe in Glenolden, before buying their Broomall home.
When Monica and Joe DePaolo began looking for houses, they considered several communities, but had good reasons for choosing Broomall. It offered the combination they were looking for: easy access to Philadelphia, sports complexes, family and friends and their jobs. The proximity to the Blue Route was an added bonus, making the drive to Joe’s parents in Perkasie surprisingly comparable to the trip through Delco traffic to Monica’s parents in Glenolden. “The location is great because we are very close our parents and siblings and nieces and nephews,” they added. “We’re lucky to have them close by.”
And most importantly, the house just felt right. “We ultimately fell in love with this particular house,” Monica said. “We still keep in touch with the previous owners and will always appreciate them.”
They chose a settlement date of December 7, 2012, knowing how fitting that date would become as their wedding was exactly one year later. Because Broomall was on the way from the church to the reception, they even stopped at the house for pictures.
They celebrated with a honeymoon in Riviera Maya, Mexico and just nine days after returning from their honeymoon, the DePaolos welcomed Doug, their beloved dog. Doug passed away last year, but his place in the family’s story remains. “Doug was such a gift,” Monica said. “It was in raising him that I really learned how happiness thrives in the small moments. He helped me learn to fall in love with the everyday magic all around, even the feeling of walking in the door to your favorite loved ones.”
The DePaolos didn’t have to wait long to feel welcome in their neighborhood.They moved in on the same weekend as their street’s annual holiday block party. Their new neighbors immediately made them part of the celebration. “They hung their lights on our trees, gathered extra blow-ups, and had us all ready to go for the countdown and lighting of the houses to kick off the party,” Monica recalled. Their families and friends, including
Monica’s lifelong best friend who lived just 2 streets away also joined the family joined them at these annual parties.
Joe’s childhood best friend is also just 20 minutes away. “We played high school soccer together, attended college together and now coach high school soccer together at Marple Newtown,” he said. Broomall has been a great place for Joe and Monica to raise two Marple Tigers, Joey and Michael. Joey, 10, is a fifth grader at Russell Elementary and something of a Renaissance kid. His interests range from technology to music to animals to athletics.
“We call him ‘Joey Drones,’ thanks to his DJI Flip drone and his enthusiasm for taking aerial photographs,” his parents said. He loves 3D printing and is happiest when he can give the gadgets he creates to friends at school. He can also disappear for hours into a LEGO project.
Outside, Joey rides bikes and scooters, rollerblades and plays with neighborhood friends. He plays year-round soccer with MNSA and baseball with Marple Township Little League. He recently discovered a love of swimming after joining Rose Tree Woods Swim team and plans to continue swimming through the fall. He may add lacrosse to his schedule in the spring. Music is another interest. Joey plays saxophone through Russell’s music program and is teaching himself piano.
Then there are the hermit crabs. Joey made sure his parents knew they needed to be included in this story. After researching their natural habitat, he created a tropical environment and carefully maintains the proper heat and humidity while providing a balanced diet. “He is sweet, thoughtful and clever, with a natural curiosity and confidence to figure things out,” said Monica.
Joey’s eight-year-old younger brother Michael, is a third grader at Russell Elementary. When asked about his interests, his answer was simple: “Sports! And food!” Michael is an enthusiastic athlete who plays soccer with MNSA, lacrosse with MN Lax and basketball. He is also a passionate fan of the Marple Newtown High School soccer team, a connection that has been part of his life almost from the beginning.
“Michael wasn’t even walking when Joe started coaching at Paxon,” Monica said. “They’ve grown up on the sidelines at the high school.” Michael also loves LEGO, baking his signature “Michael special” chocolate chip cookies (made without the chocolate chips) and spending long days at the pool or beach. He loves animals, 3D printing and playing with the family’s dog, Dandelion. “He is bold and joyful, with a huge heart,” his mom said. “He loves hard, helps instinctively, and brings an infectious joy wherever he goes.”
The family’s commitment to inclusion and service is being passed to the next generation. Both boys also enjoy helping as buddies with Limitless Sports, an inclusive athletic program for people of all abilities.
With two active children, two busy careers and a full slate of community activities, the DePaolos don’t have an abundance of downtime. When they do find it, they make the most of it. Monica is always learning or creating something. Her latest fascination is sourdough, particularly focaccia. She enjoys cooking and baking, gardening, DIY projects, crocheting, reading and old-fashioned card games like rummy. She once created a small handmade candle business using coconut wax and non-toxic scents and has recently taken a break from it. She also read a book a week last year. Joe has found a few favorite pastimes of his own: making homemade pizza, reading with his nonfiction book club, “I Got Book Worms,” and spending time by the family’s backyard pool.
The family spends as much time as possible at the shore, particularly in North Cape May. Their summers are practically organized around one question: “When do we get down the shore next?”
Monica has learned to paddleboard and has no intention of outgrowing boogie boarding. Joe enjoys fishing with his boys and tossing a ball around on the beach. As a family, they especially love watching the sun set over the bay.
Travel is another family priority. The DePaolos have a goal of visiting all 50 states together. This summer, they took a road trip through New England, traveling through New York, Connecticut and New Hampshire before reaching Maine. They glamped in a geodome in Union, Maine, visited Acadia National Park in Bar Harbor and explored Massachusetts and Rhode Island on the way home.
The family also has some unexpected new interests. Monica recently started playing Roblox with her children. “Keeping up with the kids sometimes means entering their world, too,” she said. Monica said she is happiest when she can share her interests with her children and she’s especially grateful for a husband who encourages her enthusiasm for whatever new idea or project catches her attention. “Joe is my best friend,” she said.“I’m really
lucky he supports me and any idea or project I come up with.”
Their current four-legged family member, Dandelion, has his own special story. The five-year-old, 25-pound mixed-breed pup was named by the boys. The family wanted a name beginning with “D,” and at that stage of life, when the boys were three and five, picking dandelions was a favorite summer activity.
Dandelion originally came from the litter of one of Monica’s work families. She met him just days after he was born and watched the puppies grow during her occupational therapy visits. “One little one in particular kept staring at me week after week,” she recalls. “One day I took a picture with him in the palm of my hand, and the rest is history.”
For all of the DePaolos’ accomplishments, activities and adventures, what comes through most clearly is how much they value the people around them. Their friendships span childhood, high school, college and adulthood. Now that the children are building friendships in this community, Joe and Monica are excited about embracing these families into their lives as well.
The DePaolos are Philly sports fans through and through. “But we can easily say that our boys biggest loyalty and pride is being a Marple Tiger!” they said.