In Memoriam

Tony Sommo (1947-2023) 

Introduction (by Yuhui Li):

Dr. Anthony J. Sommo (Tony), who taught Sociology at Rowan for thirty years from 1992 to 2022, passed away on August 12, 2023.

Shocked and saddened by Tony’s sudden passing, many of us felt compelled to express our condolences and memories of Tony. Tony did not want a funeral service, and so the decision was made by Josephine, Tony’s sister, and a few of us, including Jay Chases, Barry Carlson and myself, that a memorial service forTony on November 15^th 2023, which would have been Tony’s 76^th birthday, would be more to his wishes.

The service, titled A Celebration of Life for Dr. Anthony J. Sommo, was held from 5 pm to 8 pm in Owl’s Nest of the Student Center on Rowan University campus. Many people attended, including Tony’s family,colleagues, students and friends. Some attendees came as far as NC and MA. Those who could not attend the service offered their written tributes and appreciations.

Everyone agreed that the service went exceptionally well and Tony would have appreciated the event. It was informal with delicious food (Tony loved good food!) that Jo and Brad (Tony’s brother-in-law) had had prepared for the occasion. People took turns giving presentations to remember Tony with deep emotionsmixed with laughter when we recalled Tony’s mischievous behavior and unique sense of humor.

Unfortunately, three hours were far from sufficient to allow everyone to share their thoughts and memories about Tony. Besides, there were tremendous eagerness and expectations to access, visit and revisit the memories regardless whether they had been presented at the service. Thisis the reason for the publication of this collection of essays and comments in memory of Dr. Anthony J. Sommo.

There are two parts in the following collection. Part One are comments by students who nominated Tony into Wall of Fame Teaching Excellence award at Rowan over the years. Part Two consists of submissions by family, students, friends and colleagues after Tony had passed away. Both parts of the collection are arranged alphabetically according to names of the authors.

We welcome anyone who knew Tony and wishes to share with us their memories of Tony to join us in celebrating Tony’s life. Please send your comments and notes to li@rowan.edu.

Click here to read all the wonderful comments made about Dr. Sommo's time at Rowan University.