Obituary of Anthony Persichilli

Anthony (Tony) J. Persichilli, 76, of Pennington, NJ, died on July 24 of complications from a fall.

Born in Trenton on January 10, 1943 to the late Giovanni and Angelina (Bel Forte) Persichilli, he is survived by his wife of 49 years, Judith M. Persichilli, his sister and brother-in-law, Salma and Frank Popovich, his brother and sister-in-law, Dominick and Joan Persichilli, sisters-in-law, Leanne Mella and Toni M. Tracy, brother- and sister-in-law James and Tara Mella, and several nieces and nephews. He was also predeceased by his brother, August Persichilli.

Tony graduated from Ewing High School Class of 1961 where he served as Class President.  He continued his education at Rider University receiving both Bachelor of Arts and Master of Business Administration degrees. Tony worked at AT&T for 31 years in various Human Resources positions and was Vice President of Human Resources for Prudential Financial in Newark for 5 years prior to his retirement.

Tony was a dedicated public servant having been elected to the Pennington Borough Council in 2004 and for three consecutive terms as Mayor from 2006 until December 2018 when he retired as the longest serving Mayor in the history of Pennington.

Tony volunteered his time generously and was a member of the Princeton Regional Chamber of Commerce, Mid-Jersey Regional Chamber of Commerce, New Jersey Conference of Mayors,  and the American Heart Association, and served on the Board of St. Francis Medical Center Foundation and the Development Committee of Catholic Charities, Diocese of Trenton. In recognition of his service and generosity, Tony was the recipient of the 2013 Mercer County Light of Hope award from Catholic Charities, Diocese of Trenton, and the 2014 Spirit of St. Francis Award from St. Francis Medical Center.  Tony was also a member of the Trenton Country Club.

Tony will be remembered and missed by a wide and wonderful circle of friends, and he was a faithful attendee of the Friday Lunch Group, a highlight of his week. Tony’s family would like to especially acknowledge the friendship, support and assistance of Judy and Bob Rottkamp, Juliana and Wendell Pribila, and Skip and Janet Hutchinson.

A Mass of Christian Burial in celebration of Tony’s life will be held on Monday, July 29, 2019 at 11:00 AM at St. James Church, 115 E. Delaware Ave., Pennington NJ 08534.  

Calling hours for family and friends will be held on Sunday afternoon from 3:00 -7:00PM and on Monday morning from 9:30-10:30 AM at the church.  There will be no calling hours at the funeral home.

Private entombment for Tony will be at St. Mary’s Mausoleum, Hamilton, NJ.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions in Tony’s memory be made to St. Francis Medical Center Foundation, 601 Hamilton Ave., Trenton NJ 08629 or to Catholic Charities Diocese of Trenton, 383 W. State St., Trenton NJ 08607