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Family, friends remember attorney Anthony Tuccillo

Longtime sole practitioner Anthony Tuccillo passed away on Sept. 18. He's pictured here with his wife Sandy Tuccillo. (Photo courtesy of Sandy Tuccillo).

SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter

Published: October 17, 2018

A hard working lawyer, who cared deeply for his family and went the extra mile for his clients, pioneering legal solutions that positively impacted their lives and contributed to the profession--that’s how Fairlawn attorney Anthony Tuccillo is being remembered.

Tuccillo passed away on Sept. 18 at the age of 85.

“Tony was most comfortable behind his desk,” said his wife Sandy. “He would often work 16 hours a day. It was not a chore to him because he enjoyed helping people and he loved his work.

“His father instilled in him from a very young age the idea that it was important to take care of family and he worked hard to do just that,” she said. “He treated his clients the same way as he did family. He wanted them to succeed. Near the end, I think many of them were dumbfounded that they would have to find another attorney.”

Fairlawn attorney Robert C. Hunt, who shared office space with Tuccillo for about eight years, said Tuccillo was an absolute gentleman.

“Tony was a quiet ‘old school’ Italian, who never lost his temper,” said Hunt.

“As an attorney he was extremely competent, thorough and meticulous. Tony did a lot of trust work and estate and succession planning for doctors and physician groups. He was pretty much a full service lawyer for many of his clients,” said Hunt.

“He was extremely knowledgeable about tax law, which was very helpful to me whenever I had a tax question.”

Born on Aug. 1, 1933 in Minturno, Italy, he was the second youngest of Salvatore and Marta Tuccillo’s four children. His family arrived in the United States when he was four and he spent his childhood in Kenmore.

“Tony learned English quickly and became an avid reader,” said Sandy. “He said he could visualize what he was reading and read most all of the books in the children’s section of the library.

“He joined the Boy Scouts and became one of the youngest Eagle Scouts,” she said. “He got his first paper route when he was in junior high school and worked nearly every day thereafter his entire life.”

While attending Kenmore High School, Tuccillo worked for his father’s landscaping company, saving enough money to cover the tuition at The University of Akron, where he was placed in the Army ROTC. Shortly after he transferred to The Ohio State University and was put in the Air Force ROTC. He later passed a test that allowed him to enter the Navy ROTC, where he received a stipend to help pay for college.

However, he still continued to take odd jobs to help cover his expenses, including working in the cafeteria of the women’s dormitory at Ohio State.

“That’s how we first met,” said Sandy.

Tuccillo and Sandy got married in 1988. They did not have any children of their own, but Sandy said Tuccillo treated her children, Teri and Tom, as though they were his own and “loved having grandchildren.”

Sandy said after Tuccillo received his bachelor’s degree in business administration with a minor in accounting one of his professors advised him to go to law school.

Tuccillo went on to obtain his juris doctor and a master’s in taxation at Ohio State.

Sandy said he was enrolled in a doctorate program and was in his 10th year at the school when his father urged him to return to Akron and take a job as an attorney.

“He loved college and really wanted to be a college professor.”

In 1960 Tuccillo began his legal career as an assistant law director for the city of Akron.

“He wrote the city’s first tax code,” said Sandy.

Three years later, he left his job with the city to start his own law practice.

A member of the American, Ohio State and Akron bar associations, Tuccillo remained a sole practitioner his entire career, sharing office space with various attorneys.

Jim Slater, a partner at Slater & Zurz, said he practiced in the same office with Tuccillo on two separate occasions.

“Tony was a very successful private practitioner,” said Slater. “He was very helpful to me if I had a question, especially a tax question.

“He worked very hard and did a nice job for his clients,” Slater said. “He was a nice guy and I enjoyed his company. I was proud to be associated with him.”

“Tony had several phases to his career,” Sandy said. “A number of years ago, he met a doctor who asked him to look over his pension plan. Tony did and he advised him to switch to a defined benefit pension plan. The doctor was quite pleased with the outcome and began recommending Tony to other physicians.

“Tony made many important contributions to the legal community during his career,” she said. “One of his greatest contributions was pioneering the use of defined benefit plans for medical professionals. He was also one of the first attorneys to incorporate emergency room physicians. He lectured nationally on both of these topics.”

Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs Business Practice Group Leader Robert Malone said Tuccillo collaborated with him on a number of tax matters over the years, sometimes referring him clients.

“Tony was very good to his clients and they absolutely loved him,” said Malone. “Many of his clients were with him for decades. He was a very likeable guy, who was very meticulous professionally and personally. He was one of the best-dressed guys I’ve ever known.

“Tony was very athletic and he loved the outdoors as did his wife Sandy,” said Malone. “He was an avid skier and he and I used to go on vacations together.”

Tuccillo began working out of his Akron home in May 2018, retiring on Sept. 1.

Fairlawn Law Director R. Bryan Nace said what impressed him the most about Tuccillo was how he always kept up with technology.

“It was amazing,” said Nace, who shared office space with Tuccillo for about eight years. “He started practicing long before computers made their way into the office, yet he was always up to date on software programs, utilizing the latest software to assist clients in ways that some younger attorneys never considered.

“He made it a point to continue to learn and improve well into his 80s and I think there’s a lot to be learned from his example,” said Nace.

A member of The Ohio State Alumni Association, Fairlawn Country Club and Sharon Golf Club, Tuccillo enjoyed skiing, golf, handball and card games.

“He played Gin Rummy with his buddies up until a couple of weeks ago,” Sandy said.

A memorial service was held on Sept. 22 at the Billow Fairlawn Chapel.

He leaves behind his wife Sandy; children Teri (Matt) Nicholas and Tom (Colleen) Ewing; grandchildren Maddie and Annie Nicholas, Andrea Ewing and Marilyn (Connor) Johnson; sister-in-law Marie Tuccillo; nieces and nephews David Noethen, John (Meg) Noethen, Diane (Pete) Kalgreen, Mark Noethen, Chuck (Gina) Triola, Larry (Randy) Triola and Lisa (Ken) Karas.

His parents Salvatore and Marta Tuccillo, brother John Tuccillo, sisters and brothers-in-law Civita and Henry Noethen and Mary and Larry Triola all preceded him in death.


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