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It's been a difficult week for many in leadership positions throughout the city after the sudden passing of Tony Dolce.
Today, Ss. Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church will be filled with family and friends saying their final goodbyes to a man who worked both publicly and privately for the good of the community. Dolce was a devoted family man, a teacher who was ingrained in the fabric of Jamestown High School, was heavily involved in his church – including helping save it from extinction, was an institution on the City Council and devoted his time on countless volunteer boards and organizations over the past three decades.
We've been through this, unfortunately, fairly recently with the unexpected passing of Vickye James in 2021. Like Dolce, James was a sitting council member and cherished community leader. Both were able to bridge gaps in ways that made Jamestown a better place – a trait that makes losing their voices so difficult for so many.
There are many who have spent the next five years asking themselves what Vickye James would have done in certain situations. There are going to be many asking themselves, as they face difficult decisions, what Tony Dolce would have done or said in a similar situation.
The loss of such a respected community leader so unexpectedly leaves a hole in our community that won't quickly be filled. That makes sense. Dolce filled a lot of roles in Jamestown. As much as we will miss Councilman Tony Dolce or board member Tony Dolce, it's easy to forget that Tony Dolce was a teacher by trade. His final lesson is being taught now, in the days after his passing as people share their remembrances of a community leader, friend and family man. Dolce's final lesson may be more important than any that Dolce taught at home, school or a boardroom.
Community is built through connection – to one's family, to colleagues at work or in volunteer organizations, to fellow members of the same church, to current and former students, to lawmakers on the other side of the political aisle or to those you're meeting for the first time. If there is one lesson to carry forward from the loss that so many in the community felt this week, it is the way Tony Dolce connected with so many.
Tony Dolce had deep roots in Jamestown. We hope he knew – and his loved ones know – that Dolce left Jamestown a better place than he found it. A lot better.