Anthony G. Adesso

January 12, 2016   (d. January 11th, 2016)

Anthony G. Adesso, Tony liked to say his whole name with his middle initial quite often. His family knew him as Tony or Grandpa.

Although his greatest happiness came through his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, he was also a man of many accomplishments in his lifetime.

Born February 5^th, 1925 in Brooklyn, NY. He was named after his Father Anthony. He often mentioned how his Father was very proud of him. He helped his Father Bottle Beer, during Prohibition when everyone was making their own beer. Tony was in charge of putting the Caps on.   Of his mother Angela he frequently said:  “She was the most beautiful woman in the world!”

Tony said he was a member of the “knothole club” of the Brooklyn Dodgers which meant you could watch the game through a knothole in the fences surrounding Ebbets Field.

Tony had many brothers and sisters:  Larry, Carl, Josephine, Marion, the Twins: Georgie  & Tommy.

He loved his brothers and sisters and his sisters were very Motherly to him.  He was inspired by his sister Marion who was going to business school and he followed her lead by going to Hefley and Brown Secretarial School and later Suffolk Community College and also got a degree from Dowling / Aldelphi University in Business.

Around that time he took up fencing and was a very proficient fencer and particularly  liked the epee where the whole body was the target area. He once bested his teacher and he said:  “He was AMAZED that I beat him.

Tony loved History and often would tell long stories about Great Military Battles and endlessly watched the Military Channel on Television.  He often spoke about the value of an education and felt that the education he received had helped him to achieve success in Business and Life.

 
When Tony was very young the 2^nd World War broke out and he wanted to enlist.  He and a few of his Friends met at the local Grammar School Playground and they all decided to Join the Army the next day. The next morning came and Tony was the only one who showed up at the recruiting office. So he then decided he wanted to join the Navy instead but because he was only 17 his Mother had to give her consent to sign up for the Navy.

One of Tonys favorite expressions was:  “My Life was an Adventure.”  He often spoke about his experiences in the Navy. 

He first went to Miami to for Gunners Mate Training and was later stationed in New Orleans which he really enjoyed since they were not seeing any military action and it was more of a party atmosphere. From there they went to the South Pacific where their assignment was to hunt for Japanese submarines.

 
He felt very proud of his service.  Tony was a Gunners Mate 3^rd Class on the USS Riddle DE (Destroyer Escort)185. 

Tony not only had an Honorable Service for the Navy from October 1942 until February 1946; but also was a highly decorated Veteran due to his experiences in World War II.  If you spoke with him he would tell you he was in several battles where the Japanese were sending hundreds of  Kamikazes

The USS Riddle (DE-185) was a Cannon-class destroyer escort built for the United States Navy during World War II. She served in the Pacific Ocean and provided escort service against submarine and air attack for Navy vessels and convoys. She returned home at war's end with a record-setting twelve battle stars, more battle stars than any other destroyer escort in World War II.^[2]

The Riddle sunk a Japanese Submarine the I10 with a Japanese General aboard and this caused great anger in Japan and Tokyo Rose who played American Music for the Serviceman so they would listen to her broadcast and then spouted propaganda to say:  “We are gonna get you USS Riddle!!!”  It was shortly thereafter that the Riddle was attacked. He was later told at a Navy Reunion that he had saved everyone on the ship when he shot down 6 Kamikazes. When the Radar Man saw him at the Reunion he said: “Where is that Tony Adesso, I want to give him a big Kiss, he saved everyone on the ship.”

After these battles they went to the Marshall Island to repair the Riddle. The greatest damage came when one Kamikaze dropped a 500 lbs. bomb on the Riddle and it went right through the Hull and exploded in the Ocean, the plane slid across the deck and killed a friend of Tonys named Baily the Officers Cook and only causualty.

 So Tony received in the mail over a period of years 12 Battle Stars.  He was also awarded a total of 8 Medals including 8 Bronze Stars, 1 Gold Star and 1 Silver Star. Some of the Medals included the Philipine  Liberation Medal, Asia Pacific Campaign Medal, the American Theatre Medal, the Victory Medal, the World War II Medal, and the Presidential Citation Unit Medal.

When you saw Tony he was either wearing his Stetson Fedora with a Sports Coat or Dress Jacket. He came from a Generation where you liked to look Dapper when you went out in public.  He was uncomfortable if he did not either have his DE185 Cap with the Battlestar Count or his Fedora.

He was very at home on a boat And was also an accomplished Fisherman having caught many  large fish.  But it did not stop there:  “Nobody can filet a Fish like me!” It was true Tony was an expert Chef and was very proud of his concoctions, he would grind his own meat and told of how his Mother would send him out to the Butcher when he was very young.  He would make the Butcher Grind the Meat twice and the Butcher complained to his Mother:  “He is a pain in the Ass!”  This was a noticeable characteristic of Tony.  When he cooked or ate anything it needed to be perfect.  If he did not like what you made for him he would let you know right away. He was unquestionably a perfectionist.  At Christmas he would make Lasagna with Little Meatballs, Aunt Fee-nees (Aunt Josephines) recipe.  In fact,  perhaps in the 1930’s his family had a Spaghetti House in Brooklyn where only Spaghetti and Meatballs were served with the Secret Family Recipe for Meatballs.

But shopping was a sport and an event for Tony.  He was always dressed up and at his best.  To get the right price he would often go to several supermarkets in the same day. Perhaps growing up in the Great Depression or his history as a Bookeeper made him want to always get a good deal.  Anytime a lady passed him while he was shopping he would tip his hat to acknowledge them or show the respect he had for women.

After being a Bookeeper at Selchow and Righter, the Company that brought Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit and Parcheesi to the world he finally became the Treasurer. He strongly felt he had earned that position and worked very hard for it.

He was devoted husband to his wife Martha. They were married for about 67 years. When he spoke about Martha he always remarked how beautiful she was.

Tony was an incredibly loyal friend, Honorable and a Gentleman.  A Devoted Husband and Loving Father and Grandfather. He always talked about his Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren with great pride.

Anthony Adesso came from a time much different from Modern times.  He brought the Class from his Era to ours, the belief in doing the right thing in life and taking a stand for what is right in his personal beliefs and was not afraid at all to voice his opinion.

Most of all he was a Genuine American Hero.