Birth date: May 4, 1943 Death date: Jan 6, 2021
Thomas Edward Ruggeri, 77, passed away peacefully on January 6, 2021.Tom was born in Guttenberg, New Jersey in 1943. As a teenager he was in a doo-wop band called the Princetones who famously wrote the hit single, Guardian Angel. Read Obituary
… once upon a time … at Ruggeri’s ... for the Preston Royal hero who has gone home
January 6, 2021 Mr Tom Ruggeri died. To all who knew him, it was always moments of touching a glimmer of life that Tom kept burning brightly. We will all miss him, the members of a remnant left after the tornado of 2019 as we all waited for the reopening of Ruggeri’s. That dream is over now and postponed to the more sure reunion as the great banquet table awaits (Matthew 8:11, Revelation 19:9). Tom gave us a glimpse of it with his restaurants amid the turmoils of today.
This man, Tom Ruggeri, a will of the wisp, created an atmosphere at Preston and Royal that was a home to many for years, staff, customers, and family. A place all could go to relax and enjoy his vision of a time where the customer was well taken care of, able to dine on incredible food, dance to his singing, and come back in to a few days to enjoy it all again. It became a routine that helped us all escape from the realities we dealt with daily. It was like a cruise ship for me and my wife.
You are gone now, but not forgotten Mr Tom. May, 4th 1943-January, 6th 2021
Our condolences to the Ruggeri family and special thanks to Mindy Branscum
Dana and Robert Samuelson
I met Tom Ruggeri about 25 Years Ago On Christmas Eve, We Shook Hands At My Grandmother Ollie's House, Such A Nice Man To Come Over and Make Me Feel
Right At Home!!
Steven T. Cochran
I wanted to send my condolences to Tom's family
we were friends from New Jersey😗
We’ll remember Tom as a very caring individual and were so saddened to hear of his passing.
We always enjoyed our Wednesday evenings at the restaurant, visiting with Tom, getting an update on his health and his family, and singing along with Tom and the other customers and friends.
Your Dad, Brother, Grandfather, Uncle and Significant Other will truly be missed.
Brenda & Tom Kalahar
