Anthony Leonard Antin, 96, longtime resident of Cape Cod, died on July 12, 2019, in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts.
Anthony Antin, 96, died on July 12. No wake or funeral arrangements were included with his obituary.
Tony was born on June 7, 1923 in Newark, New Jersey, the youngest of six children. His mother died before he was 2, and he spent time in orphanages as his father sought to support the family.
They eventually moved to Red Bank, New Jersey, where he attended local schools and graduated from Red Bank High School.
At the age of eight he sang on his weekly radio show and at 13 landed a job at the Red Bank Register newspaper, first as a runner and later as a copywriter.
He spent a year at Monmouth Jr. College followed by a year at Ohio University before being drafted into the army. He was discharged after two years and returned to New Jersey to attend Rutgers University.
There he excelled academically and engaged in many extracurricular activities, including being elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and becoming editor of the college newspaper, coxswain of the varsity crew and a member of the cheerleading squad.
— This obituary is published via Legacy.com on the Darien Times website
His experience as the coxswain for the Rutgers crew led to a lifelong participation in rowing, including refereeing college races, helping found the U.S. Rowing Association, becoming a member of the Cambridge Boat Club and sculling on Long Pond at their Cape Cod home.
While at Rutgers he met Jean Clark McKersie, an undergraduate at nearby Douglas College. They were married on the Rutgers campus on Oct. 25, 1947.
Soon thereafter they moved to Pittsburgh where they spent most of the next 10 years.
Their first daughter, Betsy was born in 1952, and son Parker in 1955. In 1956, the family moved to Darien after Tony joined the Readers Digest in New York City.
Starting as a copywriter, he rose to become vice president and director of creative services. Their daughter, Meredith, was born in October 1963.
After he retired in 1994, they moved to Cape Cod and enjoyed some of the best years of their lives. He was a member of the Unitarian Church of Barnstable.
Tony pursued an active life through many activities and experiences.
A chance winter vacation in the early 1960s led to several decades of family skiing and many years working as a ski patrolman at Stratton Mountain. After enrolling his 10-year-old son, Parker, in a judo class, he joined the class and went on to earn his black belt.
He was a Boy Scout scoutmaster and in 1970 co-founded Post 53, which continues today to provide emergency medical services for the town.
Although his career focus became advertising, Tony was a writer at heart, championing clarity of communication. He mentored many, both formally and informally, and taught college students at Michigan State, Brigham Young and University of New Hampshire, telling them that “your writing will be as interesting or as dull as the life you lead.”
He wrote several books about advertising, including Great Print Advertising. Tony was also a lifelong poet, and at the age of 92 published Love in Old Age, a collection of poems written in his late 80s and early 90s.
He will be most remembered for helping others to succeed, professionally and in life, for his sharp wit and warm heart.
Tony is survived by his wife of 71 years, Jean M. Antin, of South Yarmouth, Massachusetts; his son, Parker (and Parker’s wife, Clare) of Tucson, Arizona; his daughter, Meredith (and her husband, Paul) of Middletown Springs, Vermont; and his daughter, Betsy, of Manchester.
He also leaves his grandchildren: Daniel of Tucson, and Meara and Emmett, both of Middletown Springs. He was predeceased by his five sisters and is survived by several half-sisters and brothers, as well as nieces and nephews.