MATTHEW FORELLI

FORELLI--Matthew.

We mourn the loss of Matthew Forelli in the early hours on May 9. Matt succumbed to a series of physical problems that had plagued him for nearly four years. Matt and his wife Martha were residents of Westport, CT and wintered at his beloved Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo, FL. No one who knew Matt will ever forget him. He was a complicated and unique man, who approached everything he did with limitless energy and enthusiasm. He was a truly loveable curmudgeon. In 1960, after graduating from St. Lawrence University, Matt married his first wife Sharon Briggs, fathered two sons Briggs and Peter, moved to Connecticut and joined his father's company Precision Gear Inc.; then located in Corona, Queens. PGI is now a seventy six year old aerospace manufacturing company that makes parts for both the commercial and defense aerospace markets. Matt was a sportsman. He loved both freshwater and saltwater fishing, hunting waterfowl on the Long Island Sound and upland birds in New Brunswick, camping by a stream, car racing and playing golf with friends and family. For many summers Matt spent July and much of August fly fishing in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. With his friend Bob D'Ambruoso he co-owned "Headwaters Angling," a fly fishing and guide shop in Ennis, MT. Another Forelli entrepreneurial venture was a popular steakhouse/bar in Darien, CT called "Lock Stock & Barrel." Of all Matthew's good qualities, and he had many, the most important was his unquestioned generosity. Matt supported innumerable charities. To name just a few: Bonefish & Tarpon Trust, AmeriCares, Brigham & Women's Hospital, Kids in Crisis, the Ocean Reef Foundation, and his alma mater St. Lawrence University; where there is a Forelli Family Scholarship. Matt's generosity also extended to his friends. He had a host of them and he was always there for them. Whatever they needed - money, advice, a place to stay, a shoulder to cry on. In addition to his wife Martha, Matt is survived by his sister Margaret Urciuoli; brother Billy; son Briggs and wife Jennifer, their children Matthew and Meg; son Peter and wife Michaela, their boys Briggs, Beau and Brodie; his former wife Sharon; Martha's two daughters Brook Lewis and Diana Cuyler and her four grandchildren Hannah, Harper, Lily and Elias.