By ALEX SPONSELLER New England Patriots Cheerleading Director Tracy Sormanti passed away at the age of 58 on Dec. 4 after a three-year battle with multiple myeloma.

The Warwick native was in her 32nd year with the Patriots organization and was one of the leading figures in NFL cheerleading circles.

"We are grieving the loss of a beloved member of our family today," said Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft in a statement. "Tracy Sormanti was one of my first hires after I bought the team, and after nearly three decades, I can confidently say that there was no one more dedicated to her job or caring and compassionate about those she coached. Like all great coaches, she was meticulous in her preparation and brought the best out of her squads. We have had the good fortune of having some of the greatest coaches in NFL history grace our sidelines, but none did so with such dignity and grace like Tracy. She earned my utmost respect and admiration for the way her teams always performed, not just on the sidelines, but more importantly as Patriots goodwill ambassadors in our New England communities and on the many Patriots USO military tours she coordinated around the world. She truly loved this organization and we loved her. Her presence will be greatly missed, but she will never be forgotten."

Sormanti joined the Patriots in 1983 as a cheerleader and would continue to cheer on and off for the next decade. She represented the Patriots in the 1993 Pro Bowl to wrap up her cheerleading career.

However, Kraft went on to hire her as the club’s director the following year, and she would immediately turn the team into one of the league’s premier units.

Sormanti’s teams went on to cheer in 10 Super Bowls, over 30 countries and countless local events. She was also responsible for upgrading the team’s tryout process, establishing a bootcamp which included dance routines, public speaking, and tests regarding the team and football rules. She also created the Patriots Junior Cheerleaders program, which partnered with Dana Farber to raise over $400,000 toward cancer research in various clinics.

Perhaps her biggest passion when it came to her work was the team’s trips overseas to visit the troops.

Former Beacon journalist Joe Kernan remembers meeting Sormanti following her return from overseas, and was impressed with her compassion for others.

“She just got back from doing a tour in Iraq, and she told me how great it was and how appreciative the kids were over there. On the way back she stopped at a few hospitals in Germany and she saw those same kids injured, missing legs, all banged up, and she couldn’t help but cry. There wasn’t a dry eye in the place when she was telling us this. Her empathy in telling this story, she was so genuine,” said Kernan.

Kernan added: “You didn’t have to ask her anything, how she felt, she put it right out there. She was just one hell of a nice person and one hell of a cheerleader. I was just a really moving moment meeting her and one that I will never forget. She was something special.”

Sormanti continued to be involved with the team throughout her treatments and attended nearly every practice and game in the process.

In 2019, when asked about how she hoped people would remember her legacy, she said, "That I've made a difference in the lives of the ladies and men who were on this team … and that they've learned some valuable life lessons because of a coach that they had in their life.”

Sormanti leaves behind her longtime companion, Dennis M. Brolin, her sister, Terri Ford, brother, Timothy Madden, five nieces and a nephew, and hundreds of former Patriots cheerleaders that she coached through the past three decades.