Tom Scibetta, a man with a laugh to be heard around the world, died unexpectedly on February 23, 2021 at the age of 58. He was a resident of Pomfret, VT.
Tom’s true legacy is his deep love and devotion to the 5 children whose mere mention made his eyes sparkle and chest puff up with pride: his three daughters Annie, Catherine and Grace Scibetta, and his stepchildren for whom he became “Tom Daddy”, Alijah and Caleb Webb. Tom is also survived by his wife Susan Scibetta; his parents, Lou & Rosemarie Scibetta; his siblings Cindy Butts (husband Dan), Paul Scibetta (wife Colleen) and Jim Scibetta, his first wife Liz Scibetta; his stepdaughter Jessica Spackman and his step grandchildren Addison and Jayden Begley; and many nieces, nephews and friends who thought he was brilliant, warm and hilarious.
Tom grew up in Rocky Hill, NJ and starred on each of the Montgomery High School basketball, baseball and soccer teams. He was fun-loving, engaging, philosophical, genuine, and occasionally mischievous. Growing up, Tom seemed to be the only one oblivious to the social status that came with his many gifts, as he exhibited anti-bullying behavior before that was even a thing, treating all kids with respect regardless of their stature among peers.
Tom attended the University of Rochester, excelled academically, and graduated with a degree in Chemical Engineering. He was an offensive star and captain of the baseball team. However, Tom most liked to tell the self-deprecating story about the exceedingly long distance a ball travelled when thrown by him, with notable velocity but without a trace of movement, and hit by an accomplished opposing batter. Tom observed this event provided incontrovertible proof of Newton’s laws of physics.
Tom attended the University of Michigan where he received an MBA. He started his career at Arco, and then spent over a decade at GE, where he was awarded GE Salesman of the Year by the incoming chairman, before starting a GE-spinout business with colleagues called the Sente Group that is still thriving today. He subsequently embarked on a lengthy successful career on Wall Street, most notably at Blackstone Group and Avenue Capital.
In addition to his immense love for his children, Tom loved his dogs, ironic statistics, Michigan basketball, the peace of the great outdoors, quoting “incontheivable” from the Princess Bride movie, timing Grace’s swim meets, playing golf with Lou in Quechee, and generally finding a way to make everyone his friend.
The family elected to have a private service in Woodstock, Vermont. A Celebration of Life is being planned for June 2021 in Vermont.
Donations can be made in Tom’s memory to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention – Tom Scibetta Memorial Fund.