Thomas Catalano Jr., general manager of Catalano Music in New Hyde Park, died on Feb. 14. He was 54.
He succumbed to multiple myeloma after a long illness, his father Thomas Catalano Sr. said.
“It was a great loss and continues to be every day,” said Thomas Catalano Sr.
The younger Catalano worked with his father in their music business for 32 years.
Thomas Catalano Jr. grew up in New Hyde Park, graduated from New Hyde Park Memorial High School and attended Nassau Community College. He worked part time at the music store while still attending school and then joined his father on a full-time basis after he left school.
Catalano was also an accomplished guitarist, having been taught to play by his father when he was 16 years old.
“He proceeded to advance with various teachers,” his father said. “He was an accomplished classical guitarist. That was his love as far as playing music was concerned.”
His father said his son also taught guitar for a time and arranged a book of Christmas songs for guitar that was published by Warner Bros.
Catalano was a member of the Greater New Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce, the New York State School Music Association, the Nassau Music Educators Association and the Suffolk County Music Educators Association.
“He had a wonderful rapport with band directors, music directors,” the elder Catalano said. “He was an integral part of the business.”
He said he and his son enjoyed working together and described their working relationship as “a mutually beneficial experience in lifestyle, supporting our families.”
His son lived in Floral Park since the early 1980s and participated in the Boy Scouts with his sons, Christopher and Michael, who both earned the rank of Eagle Scout.
His daughter, Patricia, is an accomplished flutist who aspires to have a career as a musician.
Along with his father and three children, Catalano is survived by his mother, Marjory; his wife, Peggy; his sister, Karen, and brother, Joseph.
A funeral mass was conducted at St. Stanislaus Roman Catholic Church in Queens, where he and his wife were wed 32 years ago. His remains were cremated.
