Obituary of Anthony K. Pomilio

The Honorable Anthony K. Pomilio Anthony K. Pomilio, 90, of Rome, retired Oneida County Family Court Judge, passed away Tuesday, November 23, 2010. He was born August 23, 1920 in Rome, N.Y., son of the late Mercurio and Liberata Pomilio. Judge Pomilio attended Rome schools. He received his bachelor's degree from Hamilton College in 1942 where he was president of his class. He went on to do graduate work in public administration at the University of Cincinnati and received his law degree in 1948 from Cornell Law School. Judge Pomilio served in the U.S. Army during World War II, acting as an interpreter for Italian prisoners of war. On July 11, 1959, he was united in marriage with Nancy Panebianco, in St. Agatha's Church, Canastota. Mrs. Pomilio passed away on January 30, 1994. Judge Pomilio practiced law in the City of Rome from 1949-1962. He was appointed Special County Judge of Oneida County, Judge of Children's Court, by the Honorable Thomas E. Dewey in May, 1954. Judge Pomilio became the first Family Court Judge in Oneida County and was elected to serve five terms, retiring in 1990. After retiring, he served as Judicial Hearing Officer and practiced law. He also served on the Rome Common Council and was elected president in 1954. A communicant of St. John the Baptist Church, Judge Pomilio served as a lector, Eucharistic minister and as Parish Historian. He is a past president of the Holy Name Society, a past Grand Knight of the Knights of Columbus, a member of the Nocturnal Adoration Society and Mount Saviour Monastery, Elmira, N.Y. Judge Pomilio was also a life member of the Toccolana Club. Judge Pomilio was a member of the Rome, Oneida County, and state Bar Associations, past president of the Association of Judges of the Family Court of the State of New York. He was a member of the National Council of Juvenile Court Judges, and the Oneida County Magistrates Associations. Judge Pomilio was supervising judge for Family Court in Oneida, Herkimer, Lewis, Jefferson and Oswego counties. Other organizations he was affiliated with include: charter member and past president of the Rome Optimist Club; former trustee and past president of Jervis Public Library Association; the Board of Directors Rome Bureau of Family Services; the Board of Directors Family Service Association, Utica; the Legal Aid Society of Mid New York, Inc.; the advisory board for the Annsville Youth Camp; Herkimer- Oneida Counties Crime Control Advisory Board; Rome Lodge of Elks; Rome Historical Society; director Rome Community Concert Association; board member for the Rome United Way and the Hamilton College Alumni Council. Judge Pomilio was honored with the Outstanding Young Man of the Year award for the City of Rome by the Rome Junior Chamber of Commerce in 1955. He received a similar award in 1963 from the Utica Junior Chamber of Commerce. Judge Pomilio also was awarded the Medal of 1777 from the Rome Historical Society in 1998, and the Hugh R. Jones Award from the Oneida County Bar Association in 1999. Surviving are a daughter and son-in-law, Mary Faith and Charles Messenger, Rome; two sons and a daughter-in-law, Luke and Martha Pomilio, Rome, and Christopher Pomilio, Boston, MA; four grandchildren, Molly Messenger, Jake, Sam and Meghan Pomilio. Also surviving are a brother and sisters-in-law, Paul and Dolores Pomilio, Verona, and Helen Pomilio, Rome; and several nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by a son, Joseph John Pomilio, two brothers, James Pomilio and Lawrence Pomilio; three sisters, Nellie Pomilio, Loretta Pomilio and Marie Pomilio. The family would like to express their gratitude to the staff of Terrace at Woodland, Bethany Gardens 2nd Floor, and Rome Memorial Hospital 2nd Floor for the excellent care Tony received. Funeral services will be held on Saturday at 9:00 a.m. at St. John the Baptist Church. Burial will be in St. Peter's Cemetery. Friends may call at the Nicholas J. Bush Funeral Home, Inc., 218 W. Court St., on Friday from 2-6 p.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Rome Rescue Mission, 413 E. Dominick St., Rome, N.Y. 13440 or Jervis Public Library, 613 N. Washington St., Rome, N.Y. 13440.