Anthony "Tony" Charles DiCola, friend to many & cat dad to Carmen, departed this life on August 25, 2023 at the age of 41 in Kirkland, Washington. He is survived by his loving family: parents, Vince and Cindy; sister, Stephanie; brother-in-law, Carlos; and niece, Analeila.

Tony was born in Janesville, Wisconsin in 1982, grew up around the Midwest, and spent most of his early years in Cincinnati, Ohio. He played clarinet in his high school marching band at Lakota West High School and graduated in the year 2000. As a kid, Tony loved playing with Legos, was an avid video gamer and taught himself computer programming. He graduated from The Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Engineering in 2005. Shortly after, Tony moved out west to accept a software engineer position with Microsoft Corporation in Redmond, Washington. Tony was a maker, a tinkerer, a lover of sci-fi and possessed a clever sense of humor- qualities that led him to work as a software engineer remotely from his home in Kirkland, Washington for Adafruit Industries of New York, New York. There are many more accolades worth mentioning about Tony, but he was very humble and kept the details of his life so private that not even his family knew much about his many achievements.

Transformation and escape were two recurrent themes woven into Tony's life. When Tony moved out to the Pacific Northwest, he immersed himself in several interests, shaping his life for the better. The once hotdog-and-chicken nugget-eating Midwesterner expanded his palette when he took up the science and art of cooking. He surprised his parents and sister one Christmas dinner by preparing sous vide cooked steaks, complete with perfectly charred edges courtesy of a blow torch he smuggled into their vacation rental. Tony also underwent another major life change- a battle he fought against obesity for most of his life. All on his own, he implemented the most optimal exercise and diet program to achieve a drastic weight loss of nearly half his body weight. The weight loss inspired him to run marathons and take up mountain climbing. He became a member of the Washington Alpine Club and trained there to teach classes in wilderness survival. When the pressures of life became too much for him, he headed to the mountains, summiting numerous peaks around the region, including Mt. Rainier. Aside from seeking sanctuary in the great outdoors, Tony also retreated indoors to escape to the vibrant independent film and music scene that Seattle, Washington offered.

A private family memorial will be held on September 5 at Cascade Memorial before Tony is cremated. Tony's family will hold a memorial for extended family and friends at a later date to be announced. The family has designated two charities for memorial contributions: Washington Alpine Club (washingtonalpineclub.org) and the Seattle International Film Festival (siff.net).