Antone Theophilus Silvia of Vineyard Haven, always charming, with a contagious smile that lit up his face and the faces of those around him, an all-around young Island man who loved fishing, hunting, sports, and hanging out with his friends and family — and more fishing — died Sunday, April 23, 2017, leaving a deep hole in the spirits of all those who knew and loved him. He was 26.
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Antone was born May 10, 1990, in Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, the son of Kenneth Silvia and Brenda Williston-Floyd. He got his passion for sports and the outdoors from his father, mother, and grandfathers, Gilbert Silvia of Vineyard Haven and Robert Williston — as well as a love of country music that he shared with his mother (and one song in particular that was theirs alone).
When he was old enough to go lobstering with his father and grandfathers, but not old enough to pronounce lobster, he would announce to his family that we “were going to get the ‘hoppas,”’ Ken said. It became a standing family joke, well after Antone could get his own “hoppas.”
Antone played a variety of sports throughout school, excelling at hockey and lacrosse. He later took up golf, and participated in numerous tournaments. But fishing was his passion, and the Bass and Bluefish Derby, where he won first place in the junior shore false albacore division in 2002, and the VFW fluke derby, were his stage.
Antone graduated from Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School in 2009, and joined his father and grandfather in the family plumbing business, Midland Plumbing and Heating.
He recently started to pursue his lifelong dream of one day joining the Navy, and had begun the enlistment process — but the one constant was a deep connection to the Island, never more evident than during a brief move to Florida, where he quickly decided his home, his friends, and family were central to his life.
On Nov. 17, 2008, Kelley Henry of Edgartown and Antone announced the birth of a son, Damon Robert Silvia. Damon was the joy of his life, and fishing together was a high priority during his son’s summer visits from his home in Pavo, Ga.
Doug Asselin of Vineyard Haven, Antone’s childhood friend, remembers “a very kindhearted, absolutely hilarious kid.” They attended the Tisbury School, and bonded in their struggles in and out of class. “We always just shared that common thing where nothing ever felt easy, even when you thought you were going down the right path,” Doug said.
Even though they moved in different circles, as is true of many Islanders, the early bonds remained strong, and when there were bumps in the road, they would talk.
A member of the summer softball league, Antone would show up with a grill and make his signature “pink pork,” meat doused in gooey, gloopy, delicious Ah So sauce, as Ken describes it. Then he started bringing the grill to hockey and baseball games, always with enough food to share. “He was generous and always trying to make people happy,” his mother Brenda remembered.
He leaves his son, Damon Robert Silvia; Damon’s mother, Kelley Henry of Pavo, Ga.; his mom, Brenda Williston Floyd, and husband Dana Floyd; his dad, Kenneth Silvia, and wife Pam; his brother Michael Silvia and wife Lisa, niece Payton, and nephew Christian; his brother Joseph Medeiros IV and nephew Joseph Medeiros V; his grandmother Bertha Stafford Williston, uncle Bob Williston and his wife Lisa, and their daughters Lauren, Emily, and Sarah; his uncle Michael Silvia; his aunt Danelle Silvia; his nephews Luke and Jacob; and his aunt Debbie Denoncourt and husband Ron and sons Adam and Travis.
His family appreciates the kindness and generosity shown to them during this difficult time. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations in Antone’s memory be made to the Go Fund Me site: “Support Damon through life,” which can be found at GoFundMe.com.
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