Anthony "Tony" Dertouzos

The oldest of three boys, Tony was raised in Brooklyn, NY until moving to Long Island where he attended Sachem High School meeting fellow “Flaming Arrows” and life long friends Paul Schackel and Steve Vollaro. Tony then went on to earn an Associate in Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering Technology from the University of New York Farmingdale.

With that mechanical engineering knowledge, Tony and his two brothers George and Louis followed in their father John’s footsteps working in the family business, I & J Machinery, in Farmingdale, NY, building everything from aircraft parts to parts for the lunar module, his work still proudly sitting on the surface of the moon. The family business continued in Farmingdale until a business merger and eventual relocation brought Tony to Sarasota, FL.

In 1998, not long after moving to Florida, Tony was contacted by one of the Boeing buyers he built parts for. This Boeing buyer, Karen Hoffman, had a daughter, Amity Hoffman, who would soon be traveling from her home in Wichita, KS to the Sarasota area for a summer theater internship at Florida Studio Theater. An understandably concerned mom, Karen wondered if Tony would be kind enough to share with her his thoughts on the safety of the Sarasota area. Being the gentleman that Tony was, he went a step further, offering Amity a ride from the Tampa airport to her final destination in Sarasota. That act of kindness was the catalyst that brought Tony to Amity, and as Amity likes to say “No good deed goes unpunished” so a year later she married him.

Through their 25 years of marriage, Tony and Amity were blessed with two beautiful children, Madeline Grace and Maxwell Jonathan Dertouzos. Both brightened and widened Tony’s world, getting him involved in everything from transporting kids to sports practices (“sportsing” as Tony liked to call it) to coaching them and their fellow students in Odyssey of the Mind (a role where his project management skills really shined). His dedication to the safety and wellbeing of his kids was apparent in everything Tony did and he passed on to them the importance of positivity, gratitude, genuine friendships, a sense of humor, and, of course, his love of music.

Tony’s love of music was apparent to everyone who knew him including his thousands of vinyl loving Instagram followers who he was able to connect with as easily as he could connect with someone in his immediate presence. His love of music really blossomed with the purchase of his first vinyl album at a college record shop, a purchase he made even though he didn’t have a turntable to play it on. Tony quickly remedied that as both his stereo equipment and his vinyl collection grew eventually leading to his current collection consisting of around 7,000 vinyl albums.

Later in his career Tony turned his talents toward becoming a Project Manager for a local company, Madahcom, which after a couple of acquisitions eventually became Eaton Corporation. Tony’s commitment to the success of the business and his work ethic were unmatched, constantly working long hours to meet deadlines and continuing to work through his illness. Though the work could be extremely difficult he would often state, “I may not always love the work, but I love the people I’m working with.” And he truly did, taking a genuine interest in each of his colleagues, often quipping, “If it’s important to you, it’s important to me.”

This ability to connect with others was truly Tony’s greatest superpower, often making friends wherever he went. His ability to foster these friendships personally and professionally was lasting and genuine and he would continue to keep in contact with you no matter how much time had passed. It was a superpower that fostered a remarkable and humbling amount of support from friends near and far as they surrounded him with so much love in his final year as he battled Glioblastoma. His friend-making superpower turned into one of his greatest gifts to Amity, Madeline, and Max as they continue to be surrounded by that love and support even after his passing.

Tony was predeceased by his father John Dertouzos. Tony is survived by his wife Amity Hoffman, children Madeline Dertouzos and Max Dertouzos, his mother Irene Dertouzos, his brother’s George Dertouzos and Louis Dertouzos.

Services will be held at St. Barbara’s Greek Orthodox Church, 7671 Lockwood Ridge, Rd, Sarasota, FL 34243 on Saturday, August 31st, 2024 with visitation at 12:00pm and service at 1:00pm. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to The Glioblastoma Foundation, an organization Tony felt strongly about. Donations can be made at the following website in Tony’s name:

https://fundraise.glioblastomafoundation.org/fundraiser/5718095