Camille Z. Tomasello

Camille Rose (Zito) Tomasello, 83, a lifelong Stamford resident passed away on January 15, 2025 with her family by her side. Camille was born at Stamford Hospital to Joseph and Jean Zito. She and her older brother Charles grew up on the West side with their extended family and were lucky to survive their sledding escapades down Hazel Street! Camille graduated from Stamford High School in 1959 where she participated in choir, cheerleading and student government. After graduation, she worked as a legal secretary at Brennan Deicter & Brennan.

On October 21, 1961, Camille married her childhood friend, Michael Tomasello and they started their family. In addition to raising four children and managing the house, Camille worked for many years as a bookkeeper for the family refuse and recycling business. As the children grew, Camille became the carpool driver, Brownie Leader, costume maker, team Mom, and term paper typist!

While her children were in school, she worked tirelessly with the PTA at Roxbury Elementary School and eventually became president. When she noticed the excessive fees associated with the “PTA” designation, she renamed it “ROPE” for Roxbury Organization of Parents and Educators. She spent countless hours fundraising with bake sales, organizing the school festival and participating in the Talent Show where she achieved her dream of being a Rockefeller Rockette!!! She pushed for greater diversity in the public school system and demonstrated her support by being the first parent to sign her child up for the experimental magnet school program at Westover Elementary School. Through her efforts at the Board of Education, it is rumored she is responsible for the purple and gold colors at Westhill High School!

When she wasn’t timing her kids swim meet, she enjoyed playing tennis at Roxbury Swim & Tennis Club. She also enjoyed her book club, Mahjong games and craft group. She loved making intricate quilts and every year she would donate a queen size quilt to be raffled off at the St. Leo’s fair. Camille was also very active in the community as she volunteered at Stamford Hospital, worked on mayoral campaigns, and for DSSD. She was also on the reunion committee for SHS which held reunions every 5 years until recently.

Camille and “her boyfriend Mikey” loved to travel and they saw the world with their friends and siblings. She also enjoyed baking birthday cakes and was known for baking and decorating dozens of different Christmas cookies, especially her pignoli’s!

Camille was predeceased by her parents Joseph and Jean Zito, parents-in-law Nicolas and Josephine Tomasello, her first born baby boy and her daughter-in-law Jennifer (Piacenza) Tomasello. She is survived by her husband Michael and their children: Michael, Jr. (Donna), Jill (Cindy), Andy, and Amy, 8 grandsons: Michael, III, Nicholas, Daniel, Samuel, Andrew, Matthew, Alex, James, 4 step-grandchildren: Anthony, Bradley Julia, Christopher, her brother Charles (Lorraine), sisters and brother-in-law, cousins-in-law, nieces, nephews, grandnieces, grandnephews and many four-legged fur babies.

The family would like to thank her home health aide Tanya, her Palliative Care Nurse Joleigh Parisot, Hospice Nurse Melissa Donohue and the nurses on the 7th floor of Stamford Hospital for the exceptional care Camille received.

Friends and family may call from 5:00 to 8:00pm on Friday, January 17, 2025 at the Leo P. Gallagher Funeral Home, 2900 Summer Street, Stamford, CT. A celebration of life will be at 10:00 on Saturday, January 18, 2025 at St. Leo’s Parish, 24 Roxbury Road, Stamford, CT. Interment will be private. We encourage people to wear bright and festive clothing to celebrate Camille’s love of colors, especially lavender and purple.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests donations in Camille’s name to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. #holdthegate