Anthony "Tom" Paonessa

Anthony T. Paonessa, "Tom", of Warren, age 85, died Wednesday, April 3, 2013 at his home.Although he spent the last 50 plus years as a resident of Warren, Tom was born in Detroit October 24, 1927 in Detroit the son of the late Filippo Giuseppe and the late Edith (nee: Belli) Paonessa. He attended schools in St. Anthony's parish through the 8th grade and was then accepted to Cass Technical high school where he graduated in 1945. He was drafted into the Army in 1946 and always credited his Cass Tech education for getting him into Officer Candidate School, which kept him out of kitchen duty. Not long after leaving the Army, Tom married his true love, Elsie, and began a family. After getting laid off from the Detroit tank arsenal, Tom began looking for a job that would give him and his new family some stability so in 1953 when he was offered employment with General Motors Research, he jumped at it and spent the next 34 years there, retiring as a senior project mechanic. During his free time, Tom could usually be found working on cars. Family, friends, neighbors, people broken down on the side of the road, his teenage son and friends with a dead car on Gratiot, it didn't matter. He could, and would fix your car. Tom was also very involved in the Boy Scouts, working as Scoutmaster, district commissioner councellor, trainer, driver, and any other job that needed to be done. Scouts who hadn't seen him in 30 to 40 years still speak fondly of what they learned from Mr Paonessa. For his own pleasure, Tom enjoyed bowling and golf, as well as cross country skiing, sailing on Stoney Creek and Lake Ste. Claire, and bicycling, putting several thousand miles on his bike every year. As he and Elsie aged, he spent more time at home, and during his bride's final years, he put aside his hobbies to be her caregiver. Tom will be missed.Tom is survived by his children, Christine (William) Wylie, Thomas (Diana), Philip (Diane), Daniel (Cyndi), and Joseph (Janis); grandchildren, Tony Boldrey, Joe (Brandy) Benedict, Amy Engle, Jennifer Mason, Beth (Dan) Mathews, Kathy (Joe) Schaeffer, Angela (Ryan) Reynolds, Debbie (Chris) Luckstead, Rachel (Matt) Parker, Ryan (Kassondra) Paonessa, Andy Paonessa, Jake Paonessa, Anthony Paonessa and Jason Paonessa; great grandchildren, Karissa Mason, Cassie Benedict, Abigail Benedict, Kaelyn Parker, Caedon Mathews, Cillian Reynolds, and Julia Moriah Parker. He is predeceased by his beloved wife, Elsie and his daughter, Linda Paonessa.Visitation for Tom will be held Saturday 3-9 pm with a 7:30 pm Funeral Service at the D.S. Temrowski & Sons Funeral Home, 30009 Hoover Road at Common (12 ½ Mile Rd). Memorial contributions may be made to the Home for Angels Dog Rescue, 53151 Chesterfield Road, Chesterfield, MI 48051. Please share memories at his memory book.