Thomas Gerald Desy Obituary
Tom was born in Pittsburgh, PA on May 29, 1930, to the late Gustave Gerald Desy and Emmeline Paradis Desy. In 1936, after a brief time in Baltimore, MD, his father accepted a job at Cyanimid and the family moved to Stamford. He attended Stark School, Burdick Junior High School (whose school song he remembered always), and Stamford High School. In 1952 he was in the second graduating class of Fairfield University. After graduation, he joined the U.S. Air Force, where he was stationed in Shreveport, LA, and then England, where he became a lifelong Anglophile.
Tom's career in inventory control and materials management included positions at Barnes Engineering Company, Fairfield Medical Products, and Jones Instrument. A man of strong Catholic faith, his true passion was his involvement as a lector and on the liturgy committees of St Catherine of Siena in Riverside, St. Leo's in Stamford, and St. Matthew's in Norwalk. He was also an appointee to the Bridgeport Diocesan Liturgical Commission.
Tom loved classic movies, classical music and opera, science fiction, and British humor, but most of all, he loved his family. His beloved wife of 57 years, Anne Caruso Desy, survived him by 18 days, passing in the early hours of February 27 to take her place beside him once again.
He is survived by his daughter, Jane Desy Gebhardt, son-in-law, James Gebhardt, and granddaughter Annabelle Joy Gebhardt of Norwalk, and grandson, David Gunther Gebhardt, of Stamford, He is also survived by his sister-in-law, Sr. Mary of Jesus , OCD, of New Jersey, brother-in-law James R. Johnson, nephew James Anthony Johnson, and his wife Andrea, and great niece Eliza Jane Johnson of New Canaan. He is predeceased by his brother, Donald H. Desy. He also leaves many loving extended family members and friends. No one who had the pleasure of encountering Tom will ever forget his kindness, gentleness, quick mind, and very dry wit. He was one of a kind.
A funeral Mass will be held for Tom and Anne on Saturday, October 14, at 9:30am, at St. Matthew Church in Norwalk. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Mission of Our Lady of the Angels, 3808 W. Iowa St., Chicago, IL 60651.
