UPDATED
Anthony J. “Tony” Antenucci, 72, a parishioner of St. James Church in Falls Church, died in a hiking accident on Mount Washington, N.H., Aug. 21.
Antenucci volunteered to take bone marrow all over the country. While in New Hampshire, he went to the summit of Mount Washington. He decided to hike down, but the weather turned on him. His body was found a half-mile from the summit the following morning.
Antenucci was born May 27, 1952, to Damiano and Adelina Antenucci in Isernia, Italy. He was 18 months old when he arrived in Brooklyn, N.Y., along with his parents and sisters Anna (Gioino) and Rita (Morrison). His parents moved to the United States after losing other children during World War II while in Europe.
Antenucci lived in Brooklyn until his graduation from Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn with a bachelor’s in aerospace engineering in 1973. For most of his career, he worked for the federal government. He retired from the Drug Enforcement Administration as an operations research analyst in 2009.
Antenucci loved to travel, walk, hike, cook and bake, especially different varieties of cheesecakes. Friends said he was a kind, gentle, generous and religious man. He volunteered at a community food delivery program. His volunteer work as a courier took him around the country to bring bone marrow to hospitals for people awaiting transplants.
Antenucci walked the Camino in Spain in two segments and joined a 100-mile walk with a small group from the Archdiocese of Baltimore to Philadelphia for the Mass celebrated by Pope Francis in 2015.
“The last time I saw Tony was at a luncheon,” said longtime friend Karen Cavanaugh. “Conversation turned to faith, with people at table expressing doubts about God’s existence. Not Tony. When someone asked him why he believed, he said it was because he could see the hand of God at work in his life.”
“Tony’s faith was a large part of his life,” said Ann Augherton, managing editor of the Catholic Herald and longtime friend. “He was a good man and lived his life trying his best to one day get to heaven. His mother’s Italian cooking spoiled him for any other woman’s cooking, and he spent hours in the kitchen perfecting recipes and sharing his creations. I recall the last evening he was at our home. He walked out into the dark street carrying his mostly empty casserole dish of homemade cherry bread pudding. He waved and said, ‘See you later.’ ”
“Tony had great taste in restaurants, and lousy taste in movies,” Chris Gunty, associate publisher of the Catholic Review in Baltimore, said with a laugh. “He was a good friend and always ready to help others, whether volunteering at the parish fish fry or helping move furniture.”
He was predeceased by his parents, and his sisters Anna and Rita. He is survived by a niece, Roseann Meehan (John) and nephews John Gioino (Jennifer) and Joseph Gioino. He is also survived by great nieces and nephews, Melissa Meehan, Jonathan Meehan, Patrick Gioino and Caroline Gioino.
His family and friends will miss his company, sense of humor, well thought out advice and generosity.
A Memorial Mass will be celebrated Sept. 20 at 10 a.m. at St. James Church in Falls Church.
