John A. "Tony" DeSantis

John Anthony (Tony) DeSantis never saw the inside of a cockpit, but he was a De La Salle Pilot for 48 of his 62 years. Tony died on February 14 after a 16-month battle with cancer. Tony graduated from the old De La Salle Collegiate High School, the all-boys prep school on Conner Road next to City Airport on Detroit's east side in 1960. After graduating from the University of Michigan with a Bachlor's and Master's Degree in Math Education, he taught for one year at St. Cyril's Grade School and then joined the faculty at his alma mater as a math teacher. He later added a Bachlor's Degree in Computer Science, and taught that subject as well. He taught at De La Salle for nearly the rest of his life, following the school in its move out to Warren in the early 1980's, and retiring completely only when his deteriorating health forced him to in late 2003. By conservative estimate, he taught math and computer science to at least 3000 young men over his career, including two of his own brothers. Said Terry George, De La Salle's current principal and himself a former student of Tony's, "Tony was a great math teacher and great football coach, but he was, more than anything, a great role model. We all respected him, and he encouraged and inspired us to be better students." Tony bled purple and gold, the school's colors. He loved his work in the classroom, but his real passion was high school football. He indulged it as a member of the Pilots' coaching staff for over 30 years and was elected to the Michigan High School Coaches Hall of Fame in 1991. "Tony loved coaching and was a great X's and O's man." said Al Baumgart, Tony's good friend and former De La Salle head coach. Tony also loved his cottage at Higgins Lake, but his summers there always ended in the first week of August when football practice started. "From then until mid-November we had to go to his games if we wanted to see him," said his brother Joe. "That's how dedicated he was." Tony was predeceased by his father C.J.(Babe) DeSantis. He leaves behind his mother, Betty; brothers, Joe(Patsy), Charlie(Marybeth) and Don; sisters, Mary Ann(John) Zettelmaier, Sr. Cathey DeSantis SSJ, Maggie DeSantis and Jane(Paul) Schoenherr. Tony is also survived by many loving nieces, nephews and friends of the De La Salle Community.

John A. "Tony" DeSantis

February 23, 1942 - February 14, 2005