Obituary for Tommy Santiago
On October 26, 2020, Thomas Santiago, 63, of West Milford New Jersey passed away from complications from metastatic cancer.
Thomas was born on February 16th, 1957 in Bronx, NY to Tomás & Margarita Santiago, who migrated to NYC from Puerto Rico in the 1940’s. From an early age, Thomas showed a clear sense of purpose. He knew how he wanted things done and often resorted to doing them independently. Even as a small child, he ironed his clothes and organized his shoes by himself!
After graduating High School, he made the decision to venture out and live on his own where he developed skills in what would become the early stages of his long and successful career in the real estate world. His education would later round out well into his career, where he’d graduate magna cum laude from New York University with a B.S. in Real Estate.
Starting out as a construction worker in the high-rise business, he would steadily rise in the industry to ultimately lead Citigroup’s North America real estate operations. After two decades with Citigroup, he went on to lead Global Real Estate for WarnerMedia where he was responsible for hundreds of properties and thousands of employees around the world. Significant career highlights include leading WarnerMedia’s sale of the Time Warner Center and the construction of the new corporate headquarters at Hudson Yards. In 2017 The Hispanic Executive heralded him as “The Designer” and one of their “Top 10 Líderes” in industry. A shining leader and mentor, Tom is fondly remembered by team members as a great colleague with boundless enthusiasm and curiosity.
Following the death of his uncle and godfather, Tom committed himself to the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation and served on the national board of directors for the DRI’s empire ball. He also furthered development of Hispanic businesses through fundraising for the National Hispanic Business Group.
Tom always found himself in motion - training for marathons, cycling races, and hiking abroad. He was an avid fisherman, a hobby that would take him to multiple locations around the world. Later in his life, he became a golf enthusiast where he spent countless hours honing his craft on and off the course. As a constant student for all things, Tom had an insatiable intellectual curiosity, amassing a large library filled with books on various subjects. He had a passion for art, a distinct affinity for wine, and a keen eye for interior design which were curated by his own sensibilities and refined by his close relationships with friends and colleagues. Tom epitomized the phrase “zest for life”.
Tom cherished personal relationships, especially with his family. He is preceded in death by his father Tomas, his mother Margarita, and his daughter Lulu. He is survived by his loving wife Lourdes, three sons Christopher, Matthew, and Justin and seven grandchildren, Ryan, Isaia, Bianca, Christian, Erielle, Thomas and Lucia. Tom is also survived by his daughters-in-law, Amber, Katie and daughter-in-law to be April; his aunts Irma, Elsa and Uncle Hector; his sisters Margaret and Miriam as well as several nephews, nieces, and cousins.
As Thomas recently observed: “I used to think that the most important thing in life was Happiness (to be happy). But I was wrong, the first, and most important, is Gratitude. Gratitude is first, then comes Happiness.”. We are grateful to have had Tom impact our lives with such vigorous generosity.
Memorial services for Thomas will be held at a later date in 2021 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Details will be forthcoming in the near future.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in honor of loved ones to:
Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network
https://bcan.org/donate/
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
https://secure2.convio.net/mskcc/site/Donation2?df_id=15088&mfc_pref=T&15088.donation=form1&_ga=2.209664594.1972269461.1604065484-823476670.1600437488 .
IN LIEU OF FLOWERS PLEASE MAKE DONATIONS TO THE ABOVE CHARITIES
Thomas was born on February 16th, 1957 in Bronx, NY to Tomás & Margarita Santiago, who migrated to NYC from Puerto Rico in the 1940’s. From an early age, Thomas showed a clear sense of purpose. He knew how he wanted things done and often resorted to doing them independently. Even as a small child, he ironed his clothes and organized his shoes by himself!
After graduating High School, he made the decision to venture out and live on his own where he developed skills in what would become the early stages of his long and successful career in the real estate world. His education would later round out well into his career, where he’d graduate magna cum laude from New York University with a B.S. in Real Estate.
Starting out as a construction worker in the high-rise business, he would steadily rise in the industry to ultimately lead Citigroup’s North America real estate operations. After two decades with Citigroup, he went on to lead Global Real Estate for WarnerMedia where he was responsible for hundreds of properties and thousands of employees around the world. Significant career highlights include leading WarnerMedia’s sale of the Time Warner Center and the construction of the new corporate headquarters at Hudson Yards. In 2017 The Hispanic Executive heralded him as “The Designer” and one of their “Top 10 Líderes” in industry. A shining leader and mentor, Tom is fondly remembered by team members as a great colleague with boundless enthusiasm and curiosity.
Following the death of his uncle and godfather, Tom committed himself to the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation and served on the national board of directors for the DRI’s empire ball. He also furthered development of Hispanic businesses through fundraising for the National Hispanic Business Group.
Tom always found himself in motion - training for marathons, cycling races, and hiking abroad. He was an avid fisherman, a hobby that would take him to multiple locations around the world. Later in his life, he became a golf enthusiast where he spent countless hours honing his craft on and off the course. As a constant student for all things, Tom had an insatiable intellectual curiosity, amassing a large library filled with books on various subjects. He had a passion for art, a distinct affinity for wine, and a keen eye for interior design which were curated by his own sensibilities and refined by his close relationships with friends and colleagues. Tom epitomized the phrase “zest for life”.
Tom cherished personal relationships, especially with his family. He is preceded in death by his father Tomas, his mother Margarita, and his daughter Lulu. He is survived by his loving wife Lourdes, three sons Christopher, Matthew, and Justin and seven grandchildren, Ryan, Isaia, Bianca, Christian, Erielle, Thomas and Lucia. Tom is also survived by his daughters-in-law, Amber, Katie and daughter-in-law to be April; his aunts Irma, Elsa and Uncle Hector; his sisters Margaret and Miriam as well as several nephews, nieces, and cousins.
As Thomas recently observed: “I used to think that the most important thing in life was Happiness (to be happy). But I was wrong, the first, and most important, is Gratitude. Gratitude is first, then comes Happiness.”. We are grateful to have had Tom impact our lives with such vigorous generosity.
Memorial services for Thomas will be held at a later date in 2021 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Details will be forthcoming in the near future.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in honor of loved ones to:
Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network
https://bcan.org/donate/
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
https://secure2.convio.net/mskcc/site/Donation2?df_id=15088&mfc_pref=T&15088.donation=form1&_ga=2.209664594.1972269461.1604065484-823476670.1600437488 .
IN LIEU OF FLOWERS PLEASE MAKE DONATIONS TO THE ABOVE CHARITIES