Tom Rainone - Ski School Director

Gaetano Thomas Rainone, 84, passed away on January 20, 2015 at his Catskill Mountain home.

Tom was born in Brooklyn and raised in Saugerties, N.Y. He attended the New York Military Academy, where he was a varsity diver and captain of the baseball team, and Sienna College near Albany. He studied business at New York University and in 1955 joined the family company, Gem Edible Oils, importing olive oil.

Tom’s first wife, Evelyn, died in 1967, and in 1972 he married Beverly Becher of Spokane Washington, a certified ski instructor. Beverly introduced Tom to the sport of alpine skiing at age 40; by 50 he had earned PSIA full-cert status. For 15 years he directed the ski school at Highmount Ski Center. He produced the 1975 instructional film "A Method To The Madness."

He is survived by his son, former pro ski racer Gregg Rainone; sister Angelina, her daughters Martha Keenan and Grace Monturo and their families, and his late sister Josephine's children, Francis Maestoso and Anthony Fiore, now both of Rome, Italy, and their families.