Anthony M. Trozzolo

Dr. Anthony M. Trozzolo Obituary

January 11, 1930 – July 1, 2026

MISHAWAKA – Dr. Anthony M. "Tony" Trozzolo, 96, passed away in Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center, Mishawaka, after a brief illness. He was lovingly surrounded by family and friends in the days preceding his death. Tony was born in Chicago, IL, on January 11, 1930, to the late Pasquale and Francesca Trozzolo of Chicago, IL.  Following graduation, at age 16, from Crane Tech High School, where he was elected President of the student body at age 15, he attended the Illinois Institute of Technology and graduated in 1950 with a B.S. in Chemistry. At this point in his life, as a young adult, he became extremely interested and fond of magic and even studied, in his spare time, with a well-known magician in downtown Chicago. Magic was something he did to delight friends and family members.  Following work as an industrial chemist for four years at the Chicago Midway Laboratories and the Armour Research Foundation, Tony returned to academia and received both his M.S. (1957) and Ph.D. (1960) in Chemistry from the University of Chicago. In 1959, he was offered a newly created position, as a research chemist, at Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, NJ, a position he held until 1975. Bell Labs began employing chemists on their technical staff to enhance solid state technology and material science research and Tony was part of the six ‘rat pack’ chemists at the start of this chapter. Many scientific research and discoveries took place among these six chemists. Bell Labs was known as “The Idea Factory” during this great age of American Innovation.

Dr. Anthony M. Trozzolo, Huisking Professor Emeritus of Chemistry, occupied the first endowed chair at the University offered to an outside candidate and the first in the Chemistry Department at the University of Notre Dame. In the fall semester of 1972, Tony delivered the P.C. Reilly Lecture Series at Notre Dame and was subsequently invited by the Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh CSC, University of Notre Dame President, to fill the Charles L. Huisking Professorship in Chemistry in 1975. At both Bell Labs and Notre Dame, he was involved in significant research developing practical applications of organic photochemistry, particularly the photo-oxidation processes. His main research interest was in the creation and detection of reactive intermediaries. He was the founder and first chairman of the Gordon Research Conference on Photochemistry in 1964 and in 1988 was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Gordon Research Conferences. He published over 90 Articles and was issued 31 U.S. and international patents. One of his patents was for work concerning spectroscopy with the invention of a laser with the widest band range of color, a technology that is still used today in light shows at concerts.  He was an Associate Editor of the Journal of the American Chemical Society (1975-76) and Editor of Chemical Reviews (1977-84). He delivered over 300 invited lectures at academic institutions and at technical conferences across the globe as well as international meetings and American Chemical Society (ACS) symposia. He taught thousands of University of Notre Dame undergraduates in Organic Chemistry and he mentored dozens of graduate students. He was also the assistant chair of the Pre-Professional Studies Program in the 1980s. While working at the University of Notre Dame, he collaborated with the Radiation Laboratory on campus, one of the world's foremost research laboratories investigating the effects of radiation on matter.

In 1997, he was granted Honorary Citizenship of Castrolibero, Calabria, Italy, which was the town his parents and brothers emigrated from in 1927. This coincided with him being the first recipient of the Pietro Bucci Prize (1997) co-sponsored by the Italian Chemical Society and the University of Calabria in Rende, Italy. He was also a recipient of the UNICO National Marconi Science Award (2008) given by the International Marconi Society for outstanding achievements and advancements in photochemistry and telecommunications research. He was an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1963), New York Academy of Sciences (1967), and American Chemical Society (2011). He received Distinguished Alumnus Awards from the Illinois Institute of Technology (2009) and the University of Chicago (2012) and was the first octogenarian member of the Notre Dame Faculty Senate (2010). Lastly, he was named a Marquis Who’s Who Lifetime Achiever for his outstanding contributions to chemistry, education, and research.

On October 8, 1955, in Saint Peter, MN, he married Doris “Dolly” C. Stoffregen, whom he met while she was completing a nursing residency at the University of Chicago. He is survived by six children, all of whom attended the University of Notre Dame: Thomas A. Trozzolo of South Bend, IN, Susan M. Hecklinski of South Bend, IN, Patricia A. Trozzolo- Rakowski of Niles, MI, Michael A. (Beata) Trozzolo of Niles, MI, Lisa C. Trozzolo (Kevin Nelson) of Evanston, IL, and Laura J. F. Trozzolo (Eric Leonard) of Boulder, CO. He is also survived by twelve grandchildren, Sarah Hecklinski (Joe Moore), Jessica Hecklinski, Joseph Hecklinski (Sarah Davis),  and Kathryn Hecklinski (Kevin Kruszewski), Lauren Rakowski,  Anthony Trozzolo (Emily Low), Ryan and Brooke (Bennie) Trozzolo, Natasha Trozzolo (Matt Stelmaszek); a step-grandson Aleks Frelas, and William and Weston Leonard. He is also survived by eight great-grandchildren, Charles Brunson, Henry and Elliott Moore, Quinn Schaefer, Joseph and Rory Hecklinski, and Olivia and Madelyn Stelmaszek. He was preceded in death by his wife of 55 years Doris “Dolly” Trozzolo; his parents Pasquale and Francesca; his brothers: Antonio, Angelo (Ralph), and Marion (Mario) Trozzolo as well as his sons-in-law: Bruce Hecklinski and Michael Rakowski.

Prior to moving to South Bend, IN, in 1975, Tony and Dolly resided in Chicago, IL, as well as Plainfield, Summit, and Murray Hill, NJ. For the past 51 years, Tony called South Bend, IN, home. While at Notre Dame he served as the Charles L. Huisking Professor of Chemistry (1975-1992), the Charles L. Huisking Professor Emeritus of Chemistry (1992-2026) and the Assistant Dean of the College of Science (1993-1998). Tony traveled extensively often with Dolly and their children to many international conferences in Italy, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Luxembourg, France, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, England, Sweden (Nobel Prize Ceremony), Denmark, Finland, Russia, China, Japan and Hong Kong. Tony and Dolly traveled to China with Fr. Theodore Hesburgh and a delegation from Notre Dame several times in the early 1980s to embark on greater collaboration in science with Chinese faculty and students. Tony and Dolly were good friends of Fr. Hesburgh, who con-celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary Mass in 2005, at which Fr. Ted included his rendition of “Hello, Dolly.”

Tony was a 51 year member of St. Joseph Parish of South Bend, where his life was enriched in faith by many Holy Cross clergy including Fathers Paul Doyle, John VanWolvlear, Ronald Raab, Michael Couhig, Anthony Szakaly, John DeRiso, Richard Conyers, Kevin Russeau, Matthew Fase, Dan Ponisciak, David Smith, and Peter Puleo.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 9:30 AM on Friday, July 17, 2026, in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, University of Notre Dame, with burial taking place at Cedar Grove Cemetery at Notre Dame. Visitation will take place from 2 to 8 PM, July 16, 2026, in the Kaniewski Funeral Home, South Bend. Memorial contributions may be made in his name to South Bend's St. Joseph Grade School Fund (www.stjoeparish.com) or to the Holy Cross Village Fund where he resided for the past two years. (www.holycrossvillage.com/donate/).

The family wishes to express our sincere thanks to all those  aides, nurses, doctors, therapists, dieticians, dining staff, administrators, and many friends he met at Holy Cross Village’s Dujarie House and  Schubert Villa where he spent the last years of his life, along with fellow residents and visitors who came to see him on a regular basis.

“Ti vogliamo bene,” which means: “We love you.”

Mass of Christian Burial Livestream: 

https://basilica.nd.edu/sacraments/funerals/funerals-livestream/

Father Hesburgh's Influence on Science at Notre Dame.  

Interview with  Anthony M. Trozzolo, Charles L. Huisking Professor Emeritus of Chemistry. 

https://youtu.be/H5L22x-QEJg?si=kR9H5xogVymMisT-

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