Anthony Vito Cilluffo

Anthony Vito Cilluffo passed peacefully at his home in Wells, Maine, on June 9th, 2024. He was 78 years old -- and of that time, he said, "I have lived a LIFE!" 

Born in Sicily, 1946, Tony spent his first 8 years in the town of Carini. He and his father Vito, mother Vita, and brothers Frank and Philip immigrated to the US in 1954. They were welcomed into an Italian-American neighborhood on Union Street in Brooklyn. He learned English playing stickball in the street, and also from strict Catholic-school nuns with rulers. 

Tony attended Brooklyn Tech and then joined the Army at 17. He served as a medical corpsman and was stationed in France, patching up colleagues and occasionally delivering a baby on the base. When he returned to the States after his service, he followed his brother Frank into a career on Wall Street. 

In 1979, he met Beth Markham in Manhattan and convinced her to marry him within 6 months. They had two daughters, Sara Vita and Carina, while living in New York, and moved to Maine in 1986 just in time for the birth of Anna Marissa. His idea of happiness had always been to raise a family out in the country; the farm on Bragdon Road gave him the space to host friends and family, raise and train horses, and mow for hours. 

Anthony poured his time into his community in Wells, coaching his daughters and their classmates in Little League softball over almost a decade. He is still "Coach" to many now-grown women who spent hours at practice and at the house for post-game pizza pool parties. Please know that if he coached you, he still loved you. 

He and a wonderful group of neighbors and friends organized grass-roots opposition to a massive proposed liquefied natural gas tank in Wells, to protect the character of the town and the local environment. He never grew tired of reminiscing about the mid-nineties "No Tanks" campaign, or his subsequent years in local politics. He served on the Wells Board of Selectmen for multiple terms, including as Chairman. 

In his retirement, Anthony loved to sit on a porch and admire the farm. He was still singing his oldies everywhere: the car, in the middle of restaurants, in the kitchen with his girls. He enjoyed complaining about the prices of produce and gasoline. He watched an extraordinary number of Hallmark movies.  Above all things, though, he cherished his 13 years as a Nonno, and every one of his grandchildren knew they were loved. 

When he passed, he had finally successfully quit smoking and was so proud to have gone three years without a cigarette. He never stopped trying to become a better husband, a better father, a better person. Tony was not perfect, but he was truly special. He is survived by his community, loving friends, and his family: his sister-in-law Irja and his brother Philip; his wife, Beth; his daughter Sara, her husband Thad, and his grandchildren Henry Anthony and Violet West; his daughter Carina, her husband Chris, and his grandchildren Edgar and Charles Cilluffo; his daughter Anna, her husband Chris, and their daughter Sarina Dempsey; his niece and honorary daughter Haver Markham and her partner Shane.  Calling hours will be at Johnson Funeral Home in North Berwick, Thursday 10am-12pm and again 4pm-6pm. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Wells Founders Park Community Center. 

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Anthony Vito Cilluffo, please visit our floral store.