Petersburg police officer was volunteer firefighter

9/28/2006

PETERSBURG, Mich. - Thomas V. Pirolli, 67, a tireless servant for public safety who gave his time to Petersburg after already having put in a full day's work, died Tuesday in Toledo Hospital.

He had battled heart troubles for years, and the cause of death was complications from a streptococcal infection, his family said.

Mr. Pirolli was a member of the Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department for 26 years beginning in the early 1960s. During that time, he was also a sergeant with the Petersburg Police Department before Petersburg was incorporated as a city in 1969. In addition, he was a long-time volunteer for the American Red Cross and its Disaster Team.

Meeting such commitments could make a full career for some individuals. Yet Mr. Pirolli served all these organizations while holding down full-time jobs, his son, Ted, said. "He was always there to help people," his son said. "It was something he felt he had to do."

Mr. Pirolli took a job at Abbott Laboratories in Toledo soon after graduating from Summerfield High School in Petersburg in 1957, and worked as a warehouse foreman there until the 1970s.

"He would work at Abbott Laboratories during the day, then go home and eat supper, change his clothes, and go work as a policeman for the night," his son said.

His work with the fire and police departments required Mr. Pirolli to keep a very tight schedule and be available at nearly any hour of the day, his wife, Dawn Pirolli, said.

After Abbott Laboratories closed its Toledo location, Mr. Pirolli found another job in Toledo as a warehouse foreman at a ball-bearing company. From time to time, he also held part-time jobs with area service stations to supplement his income, his son said.

He was a member of St. Alphonsus Church and sang in its choir.

Surviving are his wife, Dawn Pirolli; son, Ted Pirolli; daughters, Tammie Raymond and Terri Bauer; brothers John Pirolli and James Pirolli; eight grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be held from 2 to 9 p.m. today at Capaul Funeral Home in Ida, Mich. Funeral services will begin at 11 a.m. Friday at St. Alphonsus Church in Deerfield, Mich.

The family suggests tributes to the Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department or St. Alphonsus Catholic Church's building fund.