PINEHURST, NC – Troy Anthony Simoncelli, 29, died April 21, 2022 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He was born on March 25, 1993 to Susan Vaill of Bethlehem and George B. Simoncelli Jr. of Torrington. He was employed as a golf caddy at Pinehurst No. 2 and was working towards becoming a PGA caddy.
From an early age, Troy enjoyed all sports – participating, watching, reading and critiquing. He had an incredible memory and could recite nearly every golf, football, basketball, and baseball stat. He was an avid golfer and played every chance he could get. He was very caring and compassionate and would help anyone in need. He was a good friend to many. In 2020, he helped people navigate the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which was a very complicated process.
He grew up in Goshen, attending Goshen Elementary School and moved with his mother and sister, Francesca, to North Carolina when he was in fifth grade. He played basketball and baseball, was a member of Boy Scout Troop 98, and was selected for the West End Elementary School math team. He was also selected to participate in the People to People Student Ambassador program and traveled to Washington, DC in 2004.
Troy and his family moved back to Connecticut and he went to Woodbury Middle School for sixth and seventh grades. He won the sixth-grade geography bee and played basketball and midget football. For eighth and ninth grades, Troy attended Chase Collegiate School in Waterbury and played on the basketball, baseball and golf teams. Finally a school with a golf team, which he was delighted with. He returned to public school for his sophomore, junior, and senior years, and graduated from Nonnewaug High School in 2011. In high school, he played college basketball and football.
Troy attended the University of Montana majoring in journalism. He loved the mountains and often snowboarded with his friends. After college, he worked for Republican Linda McMahon’s senatorial campaign, landscaping, house painting and construction work before finding his love of golf.
Troy began self-medicating with drugs as an adult and, after going through numerous drug treatment programs, was eventually diagnosed with ADHD, schizophrenia, and manic bipolar disorder. For the past two years, Troy was sober but occasionally struggled with mental health issues. He moved to Pinehurst, North Carolina in 2021 and was employed by Caddiemaster, a lifelong dream of his. His family and friends were incredibly proud of him for taking this opportunity.
On April 21, while on his way to Pinehurst Hospital for an adjustment of his mental health medication, Troy was in a car accident and was airlifted to the trauma center at UNC Medical Center in Chapel Hill. Despite numerous calls to the trauma center by his mother and father to assess his mental health before releasing him, he was released and committed suicide minutes after being released from the hospital.
Troy’s family would like to point out that mental health is a very serious issue in this country and should never be ignored at any level.
Troy is survived by his parents; his sister, Francesca Simoncelli of Torrington; his half-brother, John Simoncelli of Harwinton; her grandmother, Violet W. Vaill of Bethlehem; his best friend, Nick Switz of Watertown; and the extended Simoncelli family. He was predeceased by his paternal grandparents, Doris and George Simoncelli of Litchfield, and his maternal grandfather, Gordon Vaill of Goshen.
Funeral arrangements will be announced at a later date_
Donations can be made in Troy’s memory to: Greenwoods Counseling & Referrals Inc., 25 South Street, PO Box 1549, Litchfield, CT 06759. Please include “In Memory of Troy Simoncelli” on the memo line of your check.
Donations can also be made online at greenwoodsreferrals.org by clicking on the “donate” button. For online memorials, visit phalenfuneral.com.
