Father Carl Thomas Del Giudice Jr., 79, of Ocean Isle Beach, passed away Monday, August 24, 2026. For nearly four decades, he ministered to the people of western North Carolina with commitment and devotion.

A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 1 p.m. Monday, August 31, 2026, at St. Brendan the Navigator Catholic Church, 5105 Ocean Hwy. West, Shallotte, NC 28470. Interment will take place at a later date in the family plot at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Tenafly, New Jersey.

Father Del Giudice was born in Bergen County, New Jersey, on January 28, 1947, a son of the late Carl Thomas Del Giudice Sr. and Ruth Elizabeth Sundberg Del Giudice.

He attended the Academy of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Tenafly, New Jersey, and Tenafly Senior High School. In the fourth grade, he first expressed a desire to become a priest, and he loved serving at the altar throughout his primary school years.

He also had a lifelong love of learning, even reading his family’s complete set of encyclopedias one summer when he was 10. Yet he chafed at formal schooling and left high school at 16 to work in maintenance for Bergen County. He later earned his high school equivalency and moved to Boone, North Carolina, to attend Appalachian State University, where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in urban planning.

He fell in love with North Carolina and its people. After college, he took a position with the City of Wilmington, but soon felt the call to the priesthood again.

He entered Saint Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology in Indiana and was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Charlotte on May 30, 1981, by Bishop Michael Begley at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte.

During 37 years of priestly ministry, Father Del Giudice served at parishes across western North Carolina, including St. Eugene in Asheville (1981-82), St. Benedict in Greensboro (1982-83), Our Lady of Mercy in Winston-Salem (1983), Our Lady of the Annunciation in Albemarle (1983-86), St. Francis of Assisi in Franklin (1986-88), St. Mary Mother of God in Sylva (1989-91), Sacred Heart in Brevard (1991-2012), and Our Lady of Consolation in Charlotte (2012-18). He also served at the former Our Lady of the Hills Camp in Hendersonville (1981).

In 1988-1989, a serious illness forced him to temporarily step back from parish ministry. Following surgery and a period of recovery, he traveled to spend time with family across the United States. But nothing could keep him away from serving God and the Church by ministering to the people of North Carolina that he had come to love.

His family remembers Father Del Giudice as a priest deeply focused on his mission of serving people wherever and whenever he was called. He was approachable and generous with his time, committed to his parishioners at every parish he served, and unafraid to speak up for those who were marginalized. His family loved him deeply and will miss him.

Surviving are his brother, Frank J. Del Giudice and wife Nancy; nieces, Andrea Del Giudice and husband Matthew Butram, and Nicole Del Giudice and husband Kevin Prescilla; and grand-nieces and grand-nephews Levi, Ian, Iris, Alice and Kevin Jr.

Shared memories and condolences may be sent to the family through Brunswick Funeral Services’ website here.

The family requests that, in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made to one’s local parish.

Brunswick Funeral Services in Shallotte is serving the Del Giudice family.