02/06/2020
The community mourns the loss of a great advocate! :(
Ability360 mourns the passing of Tony DiRienzi. Tony lived with a disability most of his life as he acquired polio in his early years. Tony began his relationship with Ability360 and Independent Living shortly after he and his wife Dottie arrived in Arizona in 1996. He sought services from Ability360 and received information and referral, and a home modification. In appreciation for those services, Tony became a peer mentor volunteer. Shortly thereafter, Tony was hired as Ability360’s first Early Intervention Coordinator. From 1997 to 2003, Tony represented Ability360 in hospitals and nursing homes where he worked with rehabilitation professionals to assist individuals and their families to adapt to living with a significant disability. In 2003, Tony became the Executive Director of Arizona Statewide Independent Living Council (SILC), where he served for 10 years until his retirement in September of 2013. During that time, Tony was instrumental in bringing several Statewide IL conferences and SILC Congress conferences to Arizona.
Tony was also a great advocate and worked tirelessly on many issues. He also was an integral leader and connector in statewide emergency preparedness planning for people with disabilities. Lastly, Tony is remembered first and foremost as an artist, a professional whose creative talents spanned 60 years, including jewelry-making, painting, sculpturing and mixed media. Tony noticed everything of beauty, which all contributed to his incredible charm. Ability360 mourns the passing of Tony DiRienzi but celebrates his many contributions to the arts, disability community and Independent Living movement here in Arizona.
