Anthony W. Paolitto Sr.

Anthony W. Paolitto, Sr.
Anthony W. Paolitto, Sr., 87, of Stamford, passed away on December 12, 2017, completing a long and rich life dedicated to his country, community, and most of all his family. A resident of Stamford the past 54 years, Tony was born and raised in the Bronx to his Italian immigrant parents, Carlo and Josephine (Scarano) Paolitto, and was extremely proud of his upbringing and heritage. The first in his extended family to attend college, Tony graduated from Manhattan College with a degree in civil engineering. He served in the U.S. Navy as Operations Officer aboard the destroyer the U.S.S. William R. Rush during the Korean War era.
After his formal service, one of his first career stints as a civilian took him to Casablanca in North Africa, where he helped design and build airfields for the military. After this there were more challenging projects, again with the military. Tony embarked with his young family across the country to Colorado and California to various "undisclosed locations" (at the time) where the defense department was upgrading its arsenal of nuclear deterrents with the Titan 1 missile. He was instrumental in the design of the structural steel in the underground silos that had to be able to withstand rapid launching and nuclear blasts from enemy missiles.
In 1964, Tony had the opportunity to return to his beloved NYC area and extended family when he was recruited for an entirely different "peacetime venture," helping to build the iconic monorail for the 1964 Worlds Fair. Returning to his roots, Tony settled in Stamford, raised his family, thrived as an engineer, and never left. He immersed himself in his family, his home (he was a man who could fix anything!), his yard, and his community. Even after retirement, his skills and reputation were summoned upon by the Department of Homeland Security to have him inspect the structural integrity of buildings damaged by the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Anyone who ever attended St. Leo's Church on Roxbury Road in the last 50 years would recognize Tony. He was an usher who greeted you with a smile for all of those years. If you ever had a young child sit on Santa's lap during their Christmas party, unbeknownst to you it was Tony for a number of those years. If you ever stood in line for the fried dough at St. Leo's annual fall fair, that was Tony manning the station, likely giving you extra cheese or sauce if he knew you — which was mostly everybody. Tony took up running marathons in his 60s, and if you ever saw the guy running the NYC Marathon with the St. Leo's shirt on, now you know who it was! In 2011, Tony was awarded the Dioceses of Bridgeport's St. Augustine Medal of Service, which recognizes those who unselfishly give of their time and talents to build up parish communities and faithfully use the gifts God has given them.
Tony is survived by his loving wife of 62 years, Frances; a son, Dr. Anthony W. Paolitto, Jr. and his wife Kendra of Clinton, CT; daughter Lisa Paolitto of Shady Side, MD, daughter Carla Gillespie and her husband Brian of Stamford, and granddaughters Lily Gillespie of Stamford, and Samantha Paolitto of Shady Side, MD. He is also survived by his brother, Dr. Frank Paolitto and his wife Diana of Cambridge, MA. In addition to his parents, he was predeceased by his sister, Jean Paolitto, and daughter-in-law Susan Paolitto.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, December 16, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. at St. Leo RC Church, 24 Roxbury Road, Stamford. Interment will be private and there will be no calling hours.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Anthony's memory to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105.
To leave online condolences, please visit www.cognetta.com.