John "Gig" Gigliotti, iconic Wildwood tramcar driver, dies at 97

John "Gig" Gigliotti, known around the region for driving the yellow tram on the Wildwood boardwalk with a friendly smile for decades, died Friday at 97 years old, according to an obituary posted online. 

After a distinguished career in railroads, Gigliotti worked as a safety coordinator on the Wildwood tramcars for 35 years. He retired in May.

"I worked on the railroad in passenger service and when I retired in 1992, my wife said to me, 'How about those little yellow cars on the boardwalk? It's a miniature scale of what you did all your life,' so here I am," he told CBS News Philadelphia in 2019.

Last summer, Gigliotti helped make a dream come true for Oliver Carroll, one of the tram's biggest fans, then 6 years old.

Oliver and his parents were looking at the trains in the yard when they ran into Gigliotti.

"I let him come up in the cab with me, and the 'Watch the tramcar' button is on the floor. He kept pressing it, and pressing it, and pressing it. It was no end," Gigliotti said, with his signature smile.

For Oliver's parents, April and Anthony Carroll, it was a special moment.

"He was so kind and so generous, and with so much bitterness in the world and so much going on, it does remind you that there are still really good people in the world," April Miller said. 

Gigliotti was born in Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania, and served in the United States Army. He then moved to Philadelphia, where he worked for the Reading Railroad and then Conrail for decades. He also opened and operated a deli in Northeast Philadelphia, according to the obituary.

Gigliotti and his wife, Barbara, made their home in West Deptford, New Jersey, and bought a second home in North Wildwood in 1983.

He was an active member of the Masonic Temple in Philadelphia and LuLu Shriners in Plymouth Meeting, according to his obituary.

A viewing and funeral are planned for Thursday.