Anthony Joseph Sutylo died peacefully at the age of 77, on December 27, 2024 at The Villages Hospice House after a 5 year battle with cancer. He fought this battle with great courage, never giving up, a reflection of how he led his entire life. His beloved wife Joanne partnered with him for his journey, along with his oncologist, Dr. Bruna Pellini, at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, and inspired him to continue the fight.
He married his wife Joanne in 2013 and they had a sublime love affair for 11 ½ years.
Born in Chicago on September 29, 1947, he was the only child and son of Mary (Pellicano) and Leo Sutylo. Tony loved Chicago and often returned to see how the city had changed. He enjoyed relating stories about Chicago and his adventures there and showing Joanne his old “haunts”. At 19 he was drafted and served in the United States Army from October 5, 1966-October 4, 1968 based in Vietnam. He delivered fuel to the First Cavalry. He did this willingly and selflessly in spite of the fact that he was an only son and could have been exempt from service. In fact, 3 months into his service in Vietnam, he was told he could go home. He chose to stay. He earned the Vietnam Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal and the National Defense Service Medal. He was a proud veteran and one of the great joys of his life was being on the Chicago Honor Flight on September 20, 2023. What a thrill for him to be honored in this way and spend the day in Washington, D. C. with other veterans.
When he returned home from Vietnam, he moved forward with his life and career. He was quite clever and resourceful in figuring out what he wanted to do in life. At that time, he resembled Sonny Bono and won a Sonny lookalike contest. He loved doing this and met some very interesting people in the process. Tony loved cars and he was fortunate to pursue a career doing what he loved and making money doing it. He moved from Chicago where he was in the auto body shop business to Atlanta in 1991. He bought Bavarian Body Works in 1993 and grew it significantly to a $10 million book of business. He was very proud of his accomplishment and was so pleased when someone recently told him that Bavarian was part of the cloth of Atlanta. He sold Bavarian in 2008 and bought Town Lake Collision in 2009. He sold it in 2014 and semi-retired. He always kept his hand in the business and he did independent work for an insurance company, appraising damaged cars. He enjoyed buying and selling cars and it was always a surprise as to what his next car would be.
Tony and Joanne traveled a lot and Italy was a favorite of theirs. Most recently, they went to Modena and Tony had the opportunity to drive a Ferrari. Tony and Joanne returned more than once to Bermuda, the place Tony liked the most. They honeymooned there. Tony’s family and friends loved him for his warmth, kindness, humor and optimism. He enjoyed making people laugh. Tony doted on his beloved dog Grace, a rescue, 14 years old and going strong. He enjoyed golf in The Villages with his golf buddies and he was the one who encouraged Joanne to get serious about it. As a result, they played often together. Tony was a proud Italian and enjoyed making Italian food for his friends, particularly Bolognese. His specialty was his sauce which he continually worked at perfecting. He cherished the American songbook, especially the music sung by Frank Sinatra. Tony’s favorite was “My Way”. He also liked the ‘60’s and Dion and the Belmonts was one of his favorite groups.
He was a huge fan of the Chicago Bears and went to the games when he lived in Chicago. He watched the games after he moved to Atlanta and then Florida. He loved to tease Joanne about the Bears’ 1985 win over the Patriots since she is from Massachusetts and a Patriots’ fan.
In addition to his beloved wife Joanne, Tony leaves behind his daughter Angela Fiese (Douglas J.), from his first marriage, and his 3 granddaughters whom he adored: Isabella, Sophia and Amelia of Kennesaw, Georgia. He leaves his cousin, Mary Anne Cappelleri of Chicago who has been devoted to Tony throughout his life and especially during his illness. In addition, he also leaves his cousins Vivian Baker of Chicago, Janet Elwart of Lake Forest, IL, Donna Dobesh of Parrish, Florida and various nieces and nephews.
A service will be held on Wednesday, January 29, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. to honor Tony’s life at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, Wildwood, Florida 34785. A burial will follow at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, Florida at 12:30 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, please consider making a contribution to: Moffitt Cancer Center, MBC-FOU, Attention: Mark Ketterer, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL 33612, In memory of Anthony J. Sutylo on memo line.
