Anthony Michael Marks of Branford died on March 4. He was the husband of Ellen Mary Marks, his wife of 55 years. Tony was born in Brooklyn, New York, on April 13, 1937, son of the late Charles B. Marks and Beatrice E. Marks.
He was predeceased by his brothers Charles B. Marks, Jr. of Akron, Ohio, and Philip J. Marks of Olean, New York. He was the loving father of Jennifer Marks (Paul Muniz) of Branford; Jacqueline Marks of Hamden; Capt. Charles B. Marks, III, USN of Virginia Beach, Virginia; and Jessica Ricciardelli (Ralph) of Branford. He was the loving grandfather of Alexander Muniz, Anna Marks, Elena Muniz, Charles Marks, Aidan Ricciardelli, and Grace Ricciardelli.
Tony graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1959 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps. He completed his service in the Marines as a major. Tony spent many years as an agent, general agent, and vice president with Connecticut Mutual Life, and continued his education, obtaining a master of science in financial services from The American College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. He continued his insurance career, teaching life and health insurance with the AD Banker Company.
First and foremost, Tony was fiercely proud of his family, and in particular of his six grandchildren. He was front and center at all their events and took pride in knowing what fine young men and women they were becoming. Active all of his life, Tony enjoyed traveling the world, exploring out-of-the-way places by foot across England and Scotland with his wife Ellen and his sister-in-law Shelly Marks. He especially enjoyed the trails close to home, both in the Supply Pond in Branford and Westwoods in Guilford. Tony loved to play games, and taught his children and grandchildren the finer points of most card games. With an affinity for visiting the local casinos, he liked to try his luck at Blackjack and Let It Ride.
Tony believed that volunteering to help those around him was incredibly important and spent much of his “spare” time working for many organizations that he believed in. He served not only as a eucharistic minister at St. Raphael’s and Yale-New Haven Hospital, but also as a lector and member of the choir as part of the parish community of St. George in Guilford. He regularly collected food from local businesses for distribution to food banks in the area. Tony spent countless hours recording readings for the blind and dyslexic, eventually leading the Connecticut branch of this nonprofit organization. He remained active for many years in the New Haven Rotary Club, where he served as chapter president. As part of Rotary, he was very proud of having organized book drives on behalf of emerging schools in Africa. In addition, he enjoyed being heavily involved in the Naval Academy Alumni Association, where he served as president of both New York and Connecticut Alumni Chapters, and on the building committee in Annapolis.
He spent many happy hours canning award-winning pickles and relish and loved his bread machine. To support his wife in her career, Tony developed excellent cooking skills and loved to explore new dishes and recipes. To say stamp collecting was a minor diversion for Tony would be an understatement as he built up complete collections for Iceland and the Channel Islands to include the German Occupation in World War II. From early on, the arts were a passion for Tony. He was an avid photographer, and his camera was constantly in use throughout his travels, while observing nature close up, or documenting family events. Many were not aware that Tony was a talented artist, specializing in watercolor and charcoal drawing. Since his days rowing crew at the Naval Academy, he continued for many years with the New Haven Rowing Club and traveled to Germany to participate in an international master’s rowing regatta. He was an excellent storyteller and had flawless recall for any joke. Tony could be found at the end of most days in the living room reading from a wide variety of literary genres ranging from fiction to nonfiction. His favorites included Louis L’Amour, Robert Parker, and Lee Child.
Nothing pleased him more than to be with family and friends, enjoying good conversation, sharing experiences and memories, and reveling in everyone else’s successes.
Visiting hours will be on March 7 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the W.S. Clancy Memorial Funeral Home, 244 N. Main St., Branford. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated on March 8 at St. George Church, Whitfield Street, Guilford, at 10:30 a.m. Burial with military honors will be at the Center Cemetery in Branford immediately following. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Naval Academy Alumni Association on behalf of the class of 1959. Please contact lloydhadams@yahoo.com. For directions and an online memorial, please visit www.wsclancy.com.
