A silver 2004 GMC Envoy XUV sits parked in the drive — its age is only betrayed by the boxy, gas-guzzling design. If you ever rode in that car, you knew that the interior was as pristine as the exterior, that the car had satellite radio, but the only station ever on was easy listening and that it smelled of new leather and drove smooth as glass, despite being almost two decades old, having been lovingly cared for by Anthony Martucci Jr. until the day he passed — Tuesday, April 6, 2021, in Matamoras, Pa.
It may seem silly to write about a car in an obituary, but to know that car was to know Anthony. He was a man who took pride in working hard and caring deeply for the things and people around him.
He was a creature of habit, choosing the same music station and the same car for years on end. Walking into his home, one could always expect to be greeted by his warm welcome — “Ayyyy, how ya doin’?,” thickly accented owing to his New York up-bringing — and The Weather Channel, which he reluctantly changed only upon the arrival of one of his surviving children or stepchildren — Angela Marie, Anthony III, and John, Eleanor, Alison, Matthew, Daniel, or Garrett, one of his eight grandchildren, or two great-grandchildren.
Perhaps most of all, Anthony was a man who enjoyed the quiet and simple pleasures in life. He could often be found sitting on his porch with his wife, watching the birds enjoy themselves at one of the many feeders he installed or just gazing at his gleaming GMC in front of his home. He will be sorely missed and fondly remembered.
He is survived by his wife, Maureen Berk of Matamoras, the person he cared for the most.
Anthony will be honored at a small family gathering in Matamoras, at the park where he enjoyed walking. His family requests that, in lieu of flowers, those wishing to do so make a donation to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital or the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in his name.
Funeral arrangements are by the Gray-Parker Funeral Home, Port Jervis. N.Y.