Anthony L. Proia

KITTERY POINT, Maine - Anthony L. Proia, 77, died Sunday, July 12, 2020 at Durgin Pines in Kittery, Maine. Tony was born in Middletown, N.Y. to Albert and Ruth (Moorehouse) Proia and attended Middletown schools.

Tony served his country in the United States Air Force and in 1963 he and Sandra (Barton) Proia became husband and wife. He received a degree in Physical Therapy from the University of Connecticut in 1969. After initial employment at Yale University, Tony took a position as a sports medicine specialist at the Portsmouth Rehabilitation Center in 1973 and he and Sandra and their young son, Albert, moved to Kittery Point.

In addition to the Rehab Center, Tony also served as the Director of Physical Therapy for Easter Seals and, later, the Director of Physical Therapy at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

Tony, always an outdoor enthusiast, worked at the Junction, a community resource for troubled adolescents in Portsmouth, N.H., where he led the young people on challenging hiking, canoeing and other outings.

In another incarnation, Tony entered the landscaping field, operating excavating equipment with finesse and finding special joy in building dry-laid stone walls.

Throughout his youth and into adulthood, Tony was an accomplished athlete. As a student he was a quarterback in high school and a star pitcher in junior college (he pitched two no-hitters). As an adult he loved hiking 4,000 footers and kayaking river rapids in the White Mountains with his close friend, Mike Badger. He and Sandra were avid cyclists and they cherished their yearly vacations to Nantucket during Sandra's April school break.

Tony had an infectious exuberance for life, for the natural world, the mountains and rivers, the solitude of the woods and the rain on the roof. He loved his family, his many friends and hard work. He loved music from the blues to soul to classical and show tunes.

Tony is survived by Sandra, his loving companion of 57 years; his beloved son, Albert, of Wellfleet, Mass.; sister-in-law Judith Barton of Arlington, Va. (wife of his brother-in-law Ronald W. Barton, who predeceased him) and nieces, Elizabeth Barton and Jennifer Barton.

SERVICES: A celebration of Tony's life will be held at a later date. Online condolences may be made by visiting www.jspelkeyfuneralhome.com.

In lieu of flowers a donation could be made in Tony's name to the Appalachian Mountain Club.