Victor J. TANTALO

TANTALO, Victor J.

Victor J. Tantalo, 95, of Orlando, FL, formerly of Glastonbury and West Hartford , CT, beloved husband of Anne Brown Tantalo, passed away peacefully after a long illness on August 29, 2011. Anne and his daughter Nancy never left his side during his last days. He was born in Bridgeport, the son of the late Joseph and Jenny Tantalo and resided in FL for the past 31 years with Anne, always saying that their life together was "Heaven on Earth." A self-made man, he moved to Hartford in 1939 with his first wife, Sophia (Penney) and without any accounting experience, designed and published Simplex Business Systems, a simplified bookkeeping system, opened accounting offices all over the northeast, and simultaneously became a public accountant and management consultant for small businesses for over 30 years. As an extracurricular activity, he began to jump horses over fences cross-country and became CT state hunter champion in 1949 and 1950. He also fox hunted and loved to ride to the cry of the hounds. Subsequently, he ran many major Horse Shows, including the Washington International Horse Show and even went to the White House to personally invite President Eisenhower. He also ran the Children Services Horse Show in Farmington for many years and made it the biggest three-day show in the country. He married a second time in 1960. At age 50, he took up tennis. Five years later, he turned pro, and a few years after that Tennis Magazine wrote a one-page article, "The Secrets of the Busiest Pro." He then wrote a tennis instruction book, USA Tennis Course, which he published in 1986 and 25 years later, it is still on the market. For the last 10 years, he had been working on a book about his life at the request of his daughter, Lisa. In the process, he discovered he had wonderful family in Italy. Besides his beloved third wife, Anne, Victor is survived by his four darling daughters and their spouses, Helaine Pellettier Ferrante and Gino of Glastonbury, Nancy Tantalo-McGuire and Tom of Bristol, Deborah Carroll and Dave of Glastonbury, and Lisa Peck and Paul of Glastonbury; five grandchildren, Nikki Pellettier O'Neill and her husband, Patrick, Andrew Martin and Robert Carroll, Eric and Jennie Peck; and two great grandchildren, Isabella Sophia and Kieriana Sofia O'Neill; his beloved brother, Joe Tantalo; his sister, Jane Angelica; as well as his much loved cousin Vito Tantalo of Milan, Italy, and the many dear Italian cousins he discovered in 1993. His sister, Rose LaConte predeceased him.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, Sept. 3 at 9 a.m. directly at St. Aloysuis Church, 254 Burritt St., Plantsville. Interment will follow in Rose Hill Memorial Park, Rocky Hill. The family also wishes to thank all the compassionate doctors and nurses at Florida Hospital South in Orlando. His dear relatives and friends are invited to call on Friday, September 2 from 6 to 8 p.m at Fisette-Batzner Funeral Home at Newington Memorial, 20 Bonair Ave., Newington at Newington Memorial. Memorial donations may be made to SmileTrain, 41 Madison Ave., 28th Floor, New York, NY 10010.