Thomas Francis Ardito's Obituary
Thomas Francis Ardito died peacefully on July 22nd, 2014, at his home in Deerfield Beach, Florida. He was 86.
He is survived by his beloved wife of 34 years, Margot Ellison, of Deerfield Beach; his elder sister Nina Rose (Ardito) Gambardella of Creatville, N.J.; his son Thomas Ardito of North Kingstown, R.I.; his daughter, Holly Ardito, of Belmont, Mass.; and three grandchildren.
Tom was born in New Haven, Connecticut, on May 2nd, 1928, the youngest child of Charles F. Ardito and Nancy (Ruotolo) Ardito. His father was a prominent construction contractor in New Haven who built sections of the Merit Parkway and Yale Bowl.
Tom remembered the Great New England Hurricane of 1938 well. He was in elementary school, and in the days before accurate forecasting, the storm was unforeseen. As the storm rose, the teachers decided to evacuate the school. Tom was on the school’s safety patrol, and a teacher told him to guard a small bridge, to be sure that none of the children crossed it as they left the school. The children and teachers all fled, and Tom was left alone, a ten-year old boy guarding a bridge as the hurricane hit and the river raged. When the bridge washed away, Tom decided that discretion was the better part of valor, and walked home through the storm, where his anxious mother was glad to find him alive.
Tom was always drawn to ships and the sea. During the Second World War, Tom attended a program at the Admiral Billard Naval Academy in New London, where he crewed on the schooner Yankee, the ship made famous by Capt. Irving Johnson on several voyages around the world during the 1930’s. In the 1940’s his father purchased a monument shop, where Tom learned the art of stone carving and developed a life-long love of art, particularly sculpture.
On completing high school at St. Mary’s Academy in New Haven, in 1946, Tom enlisted in the Army. He served in Yokahama during the occupation of Japan, working as a military police officer in Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s 8th Army. After discharge, he attended the University of Miami on the GI Bill, where he developed a love of South Florida and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.
After college, Tom returned to the construction business, working for L.G. DeFelice & Son of New Haven and building some of the first interstate highways in the Northeast, including sections of the New York State Throughway and Massachusetts Turnpike. He was an expert in blasting and concrete construction. Later he worked in heavy equipment and hardware sales; management consulting; and, after relocating to Florida, was an executive with Goodwill Industries in Miami until his retirement.
Tom and Margot led an active life in retirement in Deerfield Beach with many friends, traveling throughout North America and Europe. He rekindled his love of art, working primarily in clay, and won several awards for his sculpture. He enjoyed building colorful, detailed marionettes. Tom will be remembered for his friendship and sense of humor. Like others of his generation, he lived through depression, war, and peace, but throughout it all he was an independent man who enjoyed life and lived it on his own terms.
Funeral arrangements entrusted to Levitt-Weinstein Memorial Chapel 7500 N. State Road Seven Coconut Creek, FL. 33073 954-427-6500
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