Williston Park resident Joseph Camisa, the commanding officer in the Williston Park auxiliary police department and a part-time code enforcer for the Village of Williston Park, died from cancer on Jan. 4. He was 59.
Camisa, who had worked for the village since January 1996 served the auxiliary since 1994, was also a licensed funeral director and had several businesses under the name Jodor.
Camisa was a also an active member of the Knights of Columbus and the Elks Lodge in New Hyde Park. He lived in Williston Park, where he raised his three children with his wife, Dorine, since 1977.
“He was intense. He was constantly full of energy,” his son Joseph said, adding, “Everything was by the books. He was a straight arrow.”
Village of Williston Park Mayor Paul Ehrbar said Camisa’s death was a loss to the community.
“He gave up a lot of his time for the safety of the village. He was an all-around good guy who did a lot of things with the village. We really appreciate his efforts,” Ehrbar said.
At the Mass of Christian Burial held at St. Aidan Church on Saturday morning, Father Thomas Tuite said, “Life is not measured by the amount of years we spend on earth, but by the amount of life in those years.”
Joseph Camisa, Jr. said those words were an appropriate comment about the life his father led.
“Today we gather to celebrate a life well lived. A life that was cut all too short, but a life that changed so many others,” Camisa said in eulogizing his father.
“To most people he was a grizzly bear,” Camisa said. “He never had a problem putting you in your place and never backed down from anything.”
He recalled the way his father would gently check in on his children as they slept, always saying a blessing as he left their rooms.
Camisa also recalled how his father accepted the diagnosis he received shortly before Thanksgiving.
“Even when he was diagnosed with his malignancy, I sat with him on the couch and he said, ‘I don’t know how this happened to me. I’m not bitter though. If these are the cards God dealt me, then so be it.’ There was no anger.”
His son described him as “an irreplaceable man, one who will not be forgotten and will be sorely missed by all who are here today.”
He and his father were ushers together for a time at St. Aidan, where the elder Camisa served in that role for 10 years.
During the Christmas season in years past, he played Santa Claus at St. Aidan School, where Joseph and his sisters, Rachel and Christine, all attended school.
Friend and neighbor Michael Uttero said, “He always looked out for his neighbors.”
Uttero said Camisa was the first neighbor he and his family became acquainted with when they moved to Williston Park 12 years ago.
“He defined the character of the proverbial next-door neighbor,” Uttero said
In his leisure time, his son said his father was an avid fisherman and a Lionel model train collector.
Camisa helped plan his children’s weddings last year and his daughter, Rachel, is expecting a grandchild in March.
Following the Mass of Christian Burial at St. Aidan, he was interred at Holy Rood Cemetery. He is survived by his wife, Dorine, and his three children.
His family requests that donations in his memory be sent to the American Cancer Society at cancer.org.
Reach reporter Richard Tedesco by e-mail at rtedesco@theislandnow.com or by phone at 516.307.1045 x204
