Thomas Joseph Angotti, 86, formerly of Morgantown, whose spirit and love of family outlived him on May 20, 2018, was the devoted husband of 54 years of Lillian Perroots Angotti, who predeceased him.
Tom is survived by his brother, Frank Angotti, of Weston; his devoted daughters, Alma Angotti, Rose Ann Hudson, Angela Morris, and Antoinette Angotti; his sons-in-law, William Garcia, Mark Hudson, James Morris, and Christopher Kevorkian; his adoring grandchildren, Emily Hudson Willett, Elena Garcia, Rachel Hudson, Angie Garcia, Chrissy Garcia, Sophie Morris, Isabel Morris, Joseph Kevorkian, and Lilly Kevorkian; more than a dozen nieces and nephews and countless friends collected through the years.
Tom was also preceded in death by his brothers and sisters, Mike, John, Flora Farnswoth, and Marie Wakim.
He was born on January 11, 1932, in Weston, the youngest of six children of Thomas and Mary Ann Angotti. He was a basketball star at St. Patrick School in Weston, rivals with his future brother-in-law and lifelong friend, Leonard Perroots. Tom worked his way through West Virginia University, earning his BA, and remained an enduring fan of each and every Mountaineer sports team.
After graduation, Tom was commissioned as a lieutenant in the United States Army, joining the famed 10th Mountain Division, and was stationed in West Germany during the Cold War. Upon his discharge, Tom joined Hormel Foods Corporation and became one of its top salesmen, eschewing promotions and threatening to resign rather than be transferred from his native West Virginia. Through the years, he trained many new salesman, one of whom went on to become the CEO of Hormel, often including his trainees in Sunday home-made spaghetti dinners with the family.
Throughout his life Tom was an avid outdoorsman, fishing, hunting, and camping across the state. He imbued his daughters with his love of camping and hiking. As they grew, the family shared many weekends exploring the wild and wonderful of West Virginia. Truth be told, he often came home empty-handed, a trait Lil lovingly teased him about, customarily greeting him with a large pot at the door and asking if it was big enough for the catch. For Tom, the hunt was more an opportunity to be in the woods he cherished than anything else.
After their retirement, Tom and Lil traveled the world, visiting Europe, Canada, South America, Australia, New Zealand, and cruising the Mediterranean. As long as they were able to, they took grandchildren reaching teenage years on trips ranging from Canada to Italy to Machu Picchu.
More than a decade ago, Tom and Lil moved to the Washington, D.C. area to be near their daughters. After Lil’s death, Tom lived with the families of his younger daughters, enriching their families and reveling in daughters, sons-in-law, and grandchildren who good-naturedly competed for the chance to dote upon him.
He was a Renaissance Man, intensely informed and opinionated about politics, a skilled chef and baker, a self-taught landscape painter, and a student of the history and settlement of the American West. Above all else, Tom loved life, his family, the West Virginia mountains, and a good cup of coffee.
Tom will join his wife in the Peace Garden of St. Mary Roman Catholic Church, in Morgantown, on Saturday, June 9, following a celebration of his life beginning at 11 a.m.
Memorial contributions may be made to the National Parks Foundation, www.nationalparks.org.
