The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
Tony Andrew Vitello, of Somerset, passed away peacefully while sleeping at home on September 7, with family members close at hand. Tony was 99 years old and wanted to remain in the home he had lovingly built for his wife and children.
Born in Anita, Pennsylvania, he spent his youth in Punxsutawney, PA with his parents and his five siblings. He enjoyed playing baseball during those years, and as the story goes, had a fast ball that caused some concern for the opposing team.
Tony graduated from Punxsutawney High School in 1944, and soon after completed 2 years of service in the US Army from August 1944 – July 1946, with an Honorable Discharge. Sometime later, the Vitello family moved to Highland Park. Tony met Marion, they were married on June 26, 1954, and soon began a family. He then built their home in Somerset, in the late 1950s, where they remained and raised two children.
Being a US Army veteran, serving in the Military Police during World War II, Tony enjoyed sharing stories of his army life around Camp Skokie and his duties in the Chicago area.
Tony received a Service Commemoration for 31 years of loyal service to Union Carbide Corporation in Bound Brook. He worked in both lab work and carpentry maintenance for Union Carbide before his retirement on July 1, 1991.
Indeed, loyalty was a hallmark of every area of Tony’s life. He highly valued spending time with his family and friends, and was known for his willingness to help others in need. If a family member was in the hospital, he was by their side. He was a devoted husband and father, always putting family first.
Throughout his life Tony enjoyed woodworking and had proudly built the home he shared with his wife and children in Somerset. He loved sharing his carpentry and woodworking skills with others as well. Quite often, people relayed how much they learned from his knowledge and expertise. He seemed to be a natural teacher in that sense.
Tony also enjoyed bowling with a league and had several bowling trophies on display at home.
He was predeceased by his wife, Marion, in 2004 and son, Anthony, in 2020, as well as his brothers, Samuel, John and Thomas Vitello.
Surviving Tony are his daughter, Deborah A. Vitello of Piscataway; sisters, Lillian Frary of Highland Park and Catherine Kirsh of Edison; grandchildren, Phillip Stankus and Kathryn Doyle and her husband, Matthew, as well as many nephews, nieces and cousins.
Visitation will be held from 3-7 p.m. September 14 at the Gleason Funeral Home, 1360 Hamilton Street, Somerset.
Funeral services will be held at 9:15 a.m. September 15 at the funeral home with Funeral Mass 10 a.m. at St. Matthias Church, Somerset.
Committal service and interment to follow in St. Mary’s Cemetery, East Brunswick, honoring both Tony and his son, Anthony, who will be laid to rest with his parents.
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