Thomas M. Tritelli

Thomas M. Tritelli, 68, passed away on February 22, 2025, after a two and a half year battle with cancer.
Tom was the second son of the late James J. and Julia E. (Gambacorta) Tritelli. He was a full-blooded Italian. Both his paternal and maternal grandparents "came over on the boat." His paternal grandfather brought over a grapevine from Teramo, Italy, and that same grapevine is planted in Tom's backyard.
Tom graduated from St. Peter Grade School, Delcastle High School, and Delaware Technical & Community College with a degree in communications. While at DelTech, he also took classes at the University of Delaware.
After high school, Tom enlisted in the Delaware Army National Guard. After basic training, Tom went to two schools (one at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and the other at Fort Sill, Oklahoma), studying to be a radio technician. He graduated at the top of his class at both schools, a first, then, for the Delaware Army National Guard. While a National Guardsman, he went to many schools for continuing education and became certified to be an instructor at the Delaware Army National Guard and the United States Army. He was a member of the ceremonial unit, the First Delaware Regiment, who wore colonial uniforms. While with the Guard, he traveled to Germany, Italy, and South Korea. Tom retired from the Delaware Army National Guard after 33 years of service, obtaining the rank of Master Sergeant in the 261st Signal Brigade.
Tom was employed by the DuPont Company as an assembler of their medical equipment, by the National Guard as an electronics technician and a computer technician, and as a radio technician for Amtrak.
Tom was inducted as a lifetime member of the national chapter of the Association of Civilian Technicians (ACT) and was the treasurer of the Delaware chapter of ACT. He was a former secretary-treasurer of the Delaware Sons of Italy, and president of the New Castle Italian Heritage Foundation. Together with others, he was instrumental in erecting the New Castle Italian Immigrant Memorial.
Tom was a very talented person, having been a self-taught electrician and plumber, among other things. He was a ham radio operator and, for a while, together with others, established a military amateur radio station (MARS). He was a good friend to many and was always ready to lend a helping hand.
Tom was baptized and confirmed a Catholic at St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church in New Castle. At St. Peter's, he was a member of the St. Anthony's Society and Bishop Becker Knights of Columbus and had been a Minister of the Eucharist. He was a former member and president of the church's Pastoral Council.
Voluntarily, Tom installed a computer network in St. Peter School and the parish offices, running wire and cable through cinder block and running a fiber optic cable from the lower school to the middle school. He set up several computers in all classrooms for the students and teachers, in the school library, and in a computer lab. He set up printers in all classrooms and the computer lab, white boards, and a school weather station. He installed telephones in every room in the school, and in the parish offices. When the phones were activated by Lucent, Tom was offered a job. He also installed the speaker system in the church.
Tom was a member of St. Anthony's Club, St. Gabriel's Lodge No. 2035, and the Delaware Sons of Italy. He enjoyed electronics, gardening, and landscaping.
He is survived by his wife, Sharon, and older brother, James, Jr. He is also survived by his sisters-in-law, Barbara Beatson and Eleanor Waraksa; three nieces, Kimberly Helms (Mark), Christine Best (Justin), and Melissa Beatson; four great-nieces, Kaitlin (Jose) Oppenheimer, Grace and Gabrielle Helms, and Justine Best and a great-nephew, Christian (C.J.) Best; a great-great-niece, Sophia Oppenheimer, and great-great nephews, Kaiden Williams, and Cameron and Aaron Oppenheimer. He was survived by numerous cousins.
The family would like to thank the doctors and nurses who cared for him at Christiana Hospital and the Helen Graham Cancer Center, in particular, Dr. Nicole Laslett, Christiana Home Health Care, and Accent Hospice at the Hospital.
Relatives and friends are invited to a Mass of Christian Burial at St. Peter the Apostle Church, Fifth and Harmony Streets, New Castle, on Monday, March 3, 2025, at 11 am. Visitation will begin at 10:00 at the church. Burial will take place in the adjoining cemetery.
Donations can be made in Tom's name to the New Castle Italian Heritage Foundation (NCIHF), c/o of Joanna DiMondi, 12 Dalby Alley, Historic New Castle, Delaware 19720.