Anthony Cimino - Obituary

nthony "Tony" Paul Cimino (Retired Colonel, U.S.A.F.) Anthony "Tony" Paul Cimino, 90, of Annapolis died on April 22 of natural causes. Tony was born on August 15, 1920 in Wilmington, Delaware to Pasquale and Anne Cimino. He spent his childhood and adolescence in Wilmington until World War II when he joined the Army Air Corps. He attended flight training school in San Antonio, Texas and graduated in 1944 as a 2nd Lt. pilot. This was followed by B-17 and B-24 training in Kansas. Subsequent to this training, he was stationed at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, Colorado where he trained other Army Air Corps pilots. It was in Denver that he met Elizabeth (Betty) Bell. The moment of their first encounter in 1944 was the beginning of the wonderful life that they shared with one another for nearly 60 years. They married in August of 1946 and had two children, a daughter, Toni Paulette and a son, Stephen Pasquale. Tony held a wide variety of positions while serving as an officer in the U.S. Air Force that included base civil engineer, fire marshal, construction engineer, etc., and he readily met the challenges that new military orders brought his way. Tony, Betty, and their children traveled around the world throughout Tony’s military career and were fortunate to only have been separated once during that time when Tony was assigned as the commander of the Air Force's Triple Nickel Squadron in Cam Rahn Bay, Viet Nam. His 30 year career in the Air Force included the following assignments: Lowry A.F.B., Tinker A.F.B. in Oklahoma City, OK, Anderson A.F.B. in Guam, Marianna Islands, Warren A.F.B. in Cheyenne, WY, Wright Patterson A.F.B. in Fairborn, OH, Hahn A.F. B. in Germany, Grand Forks A.F.B. in ND, Command and Staff School at Maxwell A.F.B. in Montgomery, AL, the Pentagon in Arlington, VA, Cam Rahn Bay and Danang A.F. bases in Vietnam, Randolph A.F.B. in San Antonio, TX and Langley A.F.B. in Hampton, VA. He retired from the U.S. Air Force as a full colonel in 1973. Along the way, he received a business degree from the University of Denver in 1951 and a civil engineering degree from the University of Oklahoma in 1965. Tony and Betty moved to Heritage Harbour in Annapolis, MD in 1979 when the community was in its early stages of development. They were actively engaged in a wide array of activities that Heritage Harbour offered, and were avid bridge players, square-dancers, bowlers, and concert-goers. A hobby that Tony took up 26 years ago was decoy duck carving and painting. He taught classes for Anne Arundel Community College at the Heritage Harbour Lodge for many years, and he also enjoyed carving and painting with other decoy duck carvers who belonged to the Arundel Carvers Club in Annapolis. He leaves behind a beautiful collection of ducks and birds that he carved and painted over the years. Tony was the cherished patriarch of a family who loved him dearly. Tony and his wife, Betty, were married for 56 years until her death in 2002. One of their favorite places for family gatherings was their beach house in Bethany Beach, DE where memories of wonderful get-togethers were formed. Tony is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Toni and Steve Michelsen, his son and daughter-in-law, Steve and Laura Cimino, his twin step-daughters and son-in-law, Lana Hessenius, Linda and Vernon Goossen, nine grandchildren, Matt Rose, Larry Waddington, Carole Goossen James, Philip Goossen, Joshua Goossen, Erik Michelsen, Chris Michelsen, Christopher Cimino and Samantha Cimino, and fifteen great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his close friend and companion, Beverly Strickland. Friends are invited to Tony’s Life Celebration at the George P. Kalas Funeral Home, 2973 Solomons Island Road, Edgewater on Thursday, April 28 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. A funeral service will be held at Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church, 611 Baltimore Annapolis Blvd.,Severna Park, MD on Friday, April 29 at 11:30 a.m. Interment private. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the South River Federation, Inc., 2830 Solomons Island Road, Edgewater, Maryland 21037.