Anthony Tony K. Vanacoro

This obituary tribute has not been written by Tony but for him. As his life partner, he would have wanted me to reach out to all of his friends. It is with profound sorrow that I must tell you all that some time early on Tuesday morning, July 12, 2016, Tony Vanacoro died in his sleep. He had been experiencing heart problems very recently, and had been in hospital to treat and hopefully resolve the problems. Apparently, this was not the case, and now this remarkable man who was so full of humor, energy, and the joy of life is gone. Everyone of us who knew and loved Tony knows that he was a "no frills" kind of guy who was a man of very strong opinions and preferences. It was his desire to be cremated after his death, and we have made arrangements for this to happen. And because he was not a man to stand on ceremony, there will not be a funeral for him in the conventional sense. I have been talking with his family, and instead it is our goal to hold gatherings in a few different locations, primarily in NY and here in our home in Virginia where we can come together to mourn his passing and celebrate his "larger than" life. Dates have not been chosen yet but we want to do this sooner rather than later. Some of you have tried to reach out to me with your condolences, and because my life without Tony is now pretty much consumed by attending to all of the details that must be seen to after his death, my days now are very much full doing doing those things that I must do for the man I loved so very, very much, and it has been difficult to get a hold of me. I apologize for this, and deeply appreciate your sympathies. Some you I already know, and because Tony's circle of friends was truly worldwide, some of you I have not yet met, and may not be able to. But, because we are ALL Tony's family, whether by birth or because he chose us to be part of his "extended family" I will make a request. of you all. Please, since Tony's death is a painful loss for all of us and grief hurts just a little less when you know that your grief is shared by others, I ask that you go to Tony's Facebook page and that you share your memories of Tony and thoughts about his passing in a posting of your own. If you have a favorite picture of yourself with our Tony, please post that too so that we all can share your joy at knowing him as well. If in some time to come, you would like to reach out to me personally with your condolences and your regard for Tony, I would welcome hearing from you. And as I finalize arrangements for Tony, I will be out here on his FB page with the additional information. So, I will close for now with the promise to return when I have more information to share with you. We love you,Tony, and we'll miss you so, so much.....

I have been contacted by a number of Tony's friends inquiring about floral tributes for Tony. Tony was not one for fripperies, and would have much preferred for your remembrance to be in the form of a tribute in his name to help those he loved. A very close, very dear friend of Tony's has Down Syndrome, so for anyone wishing to remember Tony in this way, his family and I are requesting that in lieu of flowers, a donation be made to either The LuMind Research Down Syndrome Foundation (lumindrds.org) or The National Advocate for People with Down Syndrome (ndss.org).

Arrangements under the direction of Joseph Gawler's Sons LLC, Washington, DC.