January 10, 1996 to May 16, 2022

On the weekend of May 15, while attending the bachelor party of his dear friend, Tom Gleason, 26, tragically and senselessly lost his life due to unsuspected fentanyl poisoning. Not only did this scourge on America take Tom’s life, it also sent three of his dear friends to the intensive care unit.

Thankfully, by The Grace of God, they survived. It would surely be Tom’s wish, that his passing serves as a lifelong mandate to all those that knew him, as well as all those that they in turn love, to never drink, eat, or ingest anything whose origin cannot be identified.

Tom was a young man who came into this world and lived his life a higher vibration than most. As his friend and first boss John Clancy so simply stated: When Tom left, he left his mark.

Tom was a charismatic, strong-willed man who lit up every room he entered and he left a long and lasting impression on anyone (whether they were 8 or 80) who had the good fortune to meet him. His college essay was titled, “An Analog Man in a Digital World,” and that truly captured his essence.

Tom was born and raised in Newtown, Conn., and upon entering the first grade at Hawley School, he had the great fortune of meeting his three lifelong friends: Cooper Gold, Drew Tarantino, and Chase Wurtz. Until the day Tom left us, the brotherhood that existed among these four was something to admire. He shared his whole life with them. To a man, they described Tom as a driving force in their lives, a man that once he put his mind to something, succeeded every time. If Tom said it was going to be, it was going to be.

Tom, in his typical fashion, jumped into a whole different world when he chose to attend The University of Alabama. He wanted to prove to himself that he had the skills to succeed no matter where he landed in life. When he realized that joining a fraternity was an essential part of a big Southern School experience, he knew he had to fix the problem of not knowing a soul who could sponsor him. To solve it, he simply knocked on the front door of Psi Delta Theta and through his charm and wit, gained admission even though he later learned, that should have been impossible.

When Tom graduated, his first job was working as the marketing director for the NY/CT franchise of Go Minis portable storage units. After less than a year on the job, unforeseen events thrust him into also becoming the general manager. Tom rose to the occasion and was the driver in tripling the business over the next three years. However, after this successful four-year run, Tom realized that in order to fulfill his true desire and potential, he would have to run his own show. So, in March of this year, he partnered with his childhood friend, Drew Tarantino, to found onyxbuyers.com, a real estate firm that discovers and develops ugly homes in nice neighborhoods throughout the state of CT. Although officially in business for only three months, they had already tripled their projections.

Tom was an athlete, chef, comedian, and an inspirational truth teller. He was a man who was older than his years. A man who though only 26, lived a life fuller than many people live in 76 years. He came into this world as a bucking bronco and he left it in the same fashion. But most importantly, he left caught up with his “I love yous” with all those who had the pleasure to know him.

Tom is survived by his loving parents, Bob and Pam; his beautiful sister, Isabel; his paternal grandmother, Judy Gleason; and his maternal grandparents, Pat and Rich Boncal. He also leaves his paternal uncles Jeff (wife Sue) and Brian (wife Sarah Marsh), as well as maternal uncle and aunts, Rick (wife Misty), Patty (partner Katrina) and Beth. Lastly, he is also survived by nine first cousins.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Friday, June 3, 2022, at 11 am at St Rose of Lima Church located at 46 Church Hill Road, Newtown, Connecticut. The family will greet people as they enter the church beginning at 10:30 am. For those who cannot attend, the service will be live streamed. Simply visit: strosechurch.com, click on mass times, scroll down the left side tool bar, and click on: go here to see live mass.

In lieu of gifts, the family asks that you make a donation in Tom’s name to Families Against Fentanyl, familiesagainstfentanyl.org.