Descendants of William Christopher Wescott - Person Sheet
NameComo Thomas PONTLIANA Jr. 
, Spouse of Sister, P534, 22, M
, Spouse of Sister, P534, 22, MBirth22 May 1953
Death10 Mar 20078 Age: 53
Burial16 Mar 20078
OccupationRestaurant Management
Cause of deathsuicide8
FatherComo Thomas PONTLIANA Sr. , 399, M (1899-1992)
MotherElla Regina STARK , 400, F (1911-1992)
Spouses
1Barbara Jean WESCOTT , Sister, W230, 7, F
, Sister, W230, 7, FChristen6 Oct 1957, Christ the King Catholic Church, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, MN, USA1 Age: <1
Death16 Mar 1990, Missing at sea, Ocho Rios, Jamaica1 Age: 32
Burial23 Mar 1990, Corinthian Cemetery, Farmington, Dakota County, MN, USA7
OccupationRestaurant Management, dietitian
ReligionCatholic
FatherWells L. WESCOTT , 1, M (1920-2007)
MotherHelen Lillian HILBACK , 2, F (1920-1999)
Marriage21 Sep 1984, Christ the King Catholic Church, Minneapolis, Hennepin County, MN, USA
2Stephanie Martinez 9, M635, 14021, F
9, M635, 14021, FBirthabt 1970 Age: 43
Notes for Como Thomas PONTLIANA Jr.
Minnesota Hoops - Minnesora Player of the year - 1971--Como Pontliana, Duluth Central11
Como Thomas Pontliana, 53, formerly of Duluth, passed away March 12, 2007. He is preceded in death by his parents, Tom and Ella Pontliana. Survived by his son, Andrew Thomas, age nine, of Lindstrom, Minn. He leaves behind a host of friends and family in Minnesota, Texas, Georgia and France. MEMORIAL SERVICE: 6 p.m. Friday, March 16, 2007 in Mattson Funeral Home, 343 North Shore Drive, Forest Lake. Family will greet friends from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday in the funeral home. Mattson Funeral Home and Cremation Service 651-464-3556 www.mattsonfuneralhome.com
Published in the Duluth News Tribune on 3/15/2007.8
Mary Wesscott spoke to a mutual friend on March 16, 2007 – Scott Fischler. He and his sister (she was another manager at G’ma’s) worked with Como. Scott said that since Barb’s transcendence he has been a lost soul. Leaving Gramma’s was hard for him because of the strong Duluth/Palucci connection. Then Ella died in May 2002 (actual death date is probably 1992) and Como Sr died just two weeks later. He re-married about ten years ago, had a son aged 9. This was a miracle because he was told he couldn’t have children due to a sports injury. Scott told me that ~ two years ago he got a divorce and currently has been working construction for his former wife’s husband. On Monday he didn’t show up for work and they later found him in the car in the garage. The thought is that on Friday evening March 10 he started the car with the garage door down and …
On March 17, 2007 Mary Wescott supplied this information after attending the memorial service. Both Scott’s sister Sue (knew him and worked with him for 20+ years) AND Stephanie (his former wife and mother of his son – btw I wondered about that too—and definitely his son) said that Como struggled with this anniversary every year. Stephanie said she always knew that Barb was embedded deeply in his heart and that he missed her so much. This time of year was ALWAYS difficult for her as well because Como was so depressed. She asked him countless times to seek help and he wouldn’t.
Do you all remember the passport story? I’ll give you the shortened version. On March 10, 1990, Barbie was leaving for Jamaica and Como drove her to the airport. As Barbie left their house in Eden Prairie she grabbed what she thought was her passport. It was Como’s and of course discovered this after they arrived at the airport. Como drove back to the house in pouring rain, fetched Barb’s passport, and gave it to her just barely in time to make her flight. After the handoff, driving away Como burst into tears because the whole thing was so stressful and he felt so badly about the quick way they said goodbye. This was the last time they saw each other. Sue said Como always felt that Barb’s death was his fault because if he had arrived at the airport just minutes later, she wouldn’t have been on that fateful dive.
Keeping the passport story in mind, Stephanie said the coroner gave her the personal items Como had with him in the car. He had his wallet, and his expired passport – the one he had in 1990. She said she couldn’t figure out why he would have that until she read information on-line about Barb’s accident and eulogies from her memorial service. She thought this was a clear message from Como and that it is not a coincidence that he chose March 10 as the date to do this.
Other tidbits of info:
• He was supposed to show up for his son’s hockey practice on Saturday the 10th and didn’t
• Word is that someone saw him on Saturday at Home Depot purchasing a long plastic tube. A tube like this was found in the car
• Stephanie checked his computer and found that since about March 1st he has been Googling suicide websites
• Como drove to a house in the country that Stephanie and Chris (her husband) were thinking of and likely to purchase, parked in that garage and took his life – Stephanie thinks it’s another message
• Chris said, Como has been struggling a long time, and believes that Como’s son Andrew was the only thing that kept him going until now and that he was just finally done and couldn’t go on
• Sue said he was “just so alone and lonely”
• No one knows for sure why now…
To me this feels like a colossally tragic ending to a mind boggling, heart wrenching, gut ripping and long running overly sad saga.8
Como Thomas Pontliana, 53, formerly of Duluth, passed away March 12, 2007. He is preceded in death by his parents, Tom and Ella Pontliana. Survived by his son, Andrew Thomas, age nine, of Lindstrom, Minn. He leaves behind a host of friends and family in Minnesota, Texas, Georgia and France. MEMORIAL SERVICE: 6 p.m. Friday, March 16, 2007 in Mattson Funeral Home, 343 North Shore Drive, Forest Lake. Family will greet friends from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday in the funeral home. Mattson Funeral Home and Cremation Service 651-464-3556 www.mattsonfuneralhome.com
Published in the Duluth News Tribune on 3/15/2007.8
Mary Wesscott spoke to a mutual friend on March 16, 2007 – Scott Fischler. He and his sister (she was another manager at G’ma’s) worked with Como. Scott said that since Barb’s transcendence he has been a lost soul. Leaving Gramma’s was hard for him because of the strong Duluth/Palucci connection. Then Ella died in May 2002 (actual death date is probably 1992) and Como Sr died just two weeks later. He re-married about ten years ago, had a son aged 9. This was a miracle because he was told he couldn’t have children due to a sports injury. Scott told me that ~ two years ago he got a divorce and currently has been working construction for his former wife’s husband. On Monday he didn’t show up for work and they later found him in the car in the garage. The thought is that on Friday evening March 10 he started the car with the garage door down and …
On March 17, 2007 Mary Wescott supplied this information after attending the memorial service. Both Scott’s sister Sue (knew him and worked with him for 20+ years) AND Stephanie (his former wife and mother of his son – btw I wondered about that too—and definitely his son) said that Como struggled with this anniversary every year. Stephanie said she always knew that Barb was embedded deeply in his heart and that he missed her so much. This time of year was ALWAYS difficult for her as well because Como was so depressed. She asked him countless times to seek help and he wouldn’t.
Do you all remember the passport story? I’ll give you the shortened version. On March 10, 1990, Barbie was leaving for Jamaica and Como drove her to the airport. As Barbie left their house in Eden Prairie she grabbed what she thought was her passport. It was Como’s and of course discovered this after they arrived at the airport. Como drove back to the house in pouring rain, fetched Barb’s passport, and gave it to her just barely in time to make her flight. After the handoff, driving away Como burst into tears because the whole thing was so stressful and he felt so badly about the quick way they said goodbye. This was the last time they saw each other. Sue said Como always felt that Barb’s death was his fault because if he had arrived at the airport just minutes later, she wouldn’t have been on that fateful dive.
Keeping the passport story in mind, Stephanie said the coroner gave her the personal items Como had with him in the car. He had his wallet, and his expired passport – the one he had in 1990. She said she couldn’t figure out why he would have that until she read information on-line about Barb’s accident and eulogies from her memorial service. She thought this was a clear message from Como and that it is not a coincidence that he chose March 10 as the date to do this.
Other tidbits of info:
• He was supposed to show up for his son’s hockey practice on Saturday the 10th and didn’t
• Word is that someone saw him on Saturday at Home Depot purchasing a long plastic tube. A tube like this was found in the car
• Stephanie checked his computer and found that since about March 1st he has been Googling suicide websites
• Como drove to a house in the country that Stephanie and Chris (her husband) were thinking of and likely to purchase, parked in that garage and took his life – Stephanie thinks it’s another message
• Chris said, Como has been struggling a long time, and believes that Como’s son Andrew was the only thing that kept him going until now and that he was just finally done and couldn’t go on
• Sue said he was “just so alone and lonely”
• No one knows for sure why now…
To me this feels like a colossally tragic ending to a mind boggling, heart wrenching, gut ripping and long running overly sad saga.8