Thomas A. "Tom" Dittoe, Esquire, 68, of Lancaster, PA, lost his battle with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis – ALS – also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease at home on December 10, 2023. Tom was born December 23, 1954, in Quantico, VA to the late Sgt. John B. Dittoe, Jr. and M. Dawn (Farrel) Dittoe. He was married to Carol Lynn (Kulakowsky) Dittoe for 43 years.

Tom graduated from Conestoga Valley School District in 1972. He graduated from The Pennsylvania State University in 1976 with a degree in Foreign Service and International Politics. While there, he was Dorm President and Student Academic Adviser. He received his law degree from Western New England College School of Law in Springfield, MA in 1980, graduating with honors. While at law school he participated in International Moot Court for two years. He finished in the top ten of speakers in the competitions. He started his own law practice in 1984 and continued until 2022.

Tom was a lifetime member of St. John's United Methodist Church, Paradise, PA. He was the Youth Leader in the 1990's and early 2000's. He served the church as a Trustee, Lay Leader, and Financial Chairman. As lay leader, he led sixty services including giving the message when the pastor could not be there. Tom also led the Good Friday service for over 20 years. Each year he focused on a different "witness" to Christ's death. He also held a Classic Rock Service three times a year since 2014 that focused on songs from the 1960s and 1970s that had spiritual overtones or messages but may not be religious in and of themselves.

Tom played on the church's softball team in the Pequea Valley Church League for over 50 years acting as coach of the team for most of those years. He served as the League President for over 30 years. The church's softball team participated in the Schreiber Center for Pediatric Development (SCPD) Softball tournament for more than 40 years. For over 20 years, Tom was on the SCPD Softball Tournament's Board to help plan the event. Tom also was a member of the Strasburg Senior Softball team in the LanCo Senior Modified Softball League. He was an assistant coach for five years and the team's statistician. He loved playing softball and being with his teammates, encouraging them. The bonds he made over the years were very special to him.

In addition to playing softball, Tom was an avid sports fan, and he watched all the sports. He was a lifelong Penn State fan and had season tickets for 42 years. From the time he first had them until 2020, he had missed only three games.  Since he was a kid, his favorite football team was the Oakland Raiders. As he said, "Back in the day when there were only three channels, they always showed the Raiders. What little boy wouldn't like seeing the skulls on the helmets?" And they'll always be the Oakland Raiders, no matter where they play!

Tom was a coin collector and a history buff. Not only did he read everything about all the wars, he was also a self-professed Civil War nerd. Gettysburg was his second home, and he spent a lot of time there. He went on many of the Battlefield Walks and Tours over the years and took part in the Gettysburg Stomp each December involving private battlefield walks and tours with a trained guide. Even after he could no longer go on the walks, he watched them all on PCN. He took family, friends, and clubs there for tours to learn more about the battle. Tom also had an article published in the Lancaster Historical Society's Journal titled, "Lancaster's First Responders: The Jackson Rifles and Lancaster Fencibles and the First Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry in the American Civil War" for which he was very proud.

In addition to his wife, Tom is survived by a daughter, Jessica, and many cousins.

A celebration of life service will be held at St. John's United Methodist Church, 3001 Lincoln Highway East, Gordonville, on Saturday, January 20th at 11 a.m. with a visitation time from 9:30 a.m. until the time of service.  Tom's friend and colleague in ministry Pastor Tim Craven will be officiating.  There will also be a visitation time at the church on Friday evening from 6 to 8 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to ALS United Mid-Atlantic, 321 Norristown Road, Ambler, PA 19002, Schreiber Center for Pediatric Development, or St. John's United Methodist Church.