Longtime Roslyn resident Nicholas DiNapoli died Sunday from a combination of heart disease and cancer, his son, state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said. He was 92.
DiNapoli said his father enjoyed the little things in life and had a passion for community involvement.
“In very simple ways, he loved to stay connected to the neighborhood and to the family and for him that’s all he needed,” he said. “He didn’t need anything fancy, he was a regular down to earth guy.”
Nicholas DiNapoli was born in Roslyn in 1924.
The comptroller said after graduating from Roslyn High School in 1942, Nicholas joined the U.S. Army Air Corps and was stationed in California, where he became a corporal and served as a mechanic for airplanes flying into the Pacific.
After returning from the Army, DiNapoli said his father got a job working as a splicer’s assistant for the New York Telephone Company.
The comptroller said his father was promoted to a splicer’s position.
“For many years he climbed telephone poles and worked in manholes here on the North Shore and on Long Island,” DiNapoli said. “Working early mornings, long shifts, on the holidays when there was a storm or hurricane, he had to be out there making sure there was still telephone service.”
He said his father was eventually promoted to a manager’s position and retired in 1985 and after a 40-year career with the New York Telephone Company.
Nicholas DiNapoli married Adeline Abbondandelo in 1948
The couple had two children, Thomas, and James DiNapoli, who works in the state courts system, the comptroller said.
Adeline died in 1991.
DiNapoli said Nicholas was always there for his two sons, especially because he lost his father when he was just 11 years old.
“I think because he knew what it was like not to have a father, he really made sure he was there,” he said. “Even though he worked long hours, he was the first to volunteer for Boy Scouts or take us to Little League.”
The comptroller said his father was a strong advocate for his two sons to get a college education rather than head straight into the workforce after high school.
“His big priority was that my brother and I go to college because he didn’t have the opportunity,” DiNapoli said. “He saw the limitations on where his career could go because he didn’t have that and he always emphasized that to us.”
Nicholas had two grandchildren, with whom, the comptroller said, he maintained a close relationship, constantly driving to Suffolk County where they lived to see them as much as he could.
“Being a grandfather to him was just off the charts,” DiNapoli said. “You could see he always wanted to be there.”
Nicholas had a strong passion for community involvement because he grew up during a time when Roslyn was like “small town America,” his son said.
“His whole life was in this small radius of communities,” DiNapoli said. “They were the shopkeepers, gardeners, folks that worked and provided services for the wealthier people around.”
Nicholas also served on the Roslyn Highlands Fire Department during his younger years, and joined the American Legion post in Williston Park.
DiNapoli said his father’s community involvement helped spark his interest in serving the public as a political figure.
Although his father was a Republican like the rest of his family, the comptroller said Nicholas always supported his campaigns.
DiNapoli, a Democrat, said one year his father had told him he was going to vote in a Democratic primary, which confused the comptroller since he was a registered Republican.
“He sheepishly admitted to me that he had changed his enrollment to Democrat,” he said. “He said to me ‘if you ever have a primary again, I don’t want to be closed out from the opportunity to vote for you.’”
“I think being there for your family in any way possible trumped everything else,” the comptroller added.
DiNapoli recalled an incident in 2007, when he was in a battle with former Gov. Eliot Spitzer over who the state Legislature should select to fill the vacant comptroller’s position and told his family not come to Albany while talks were ongoing.
He said without telling him, Nicholas and James traveled to Albany and sat in the back of the chamber, which he was shocked to later find out.
“The vote happened and I ended up winning,” the comptroller said. “The sergeant-at-arms, Wayne Jackson, came up to me and said congratulations, where do you want me to bring your father?”
“It meant a lot and he got to stand next to me when I was sworn in,” DiNapoli added.
The comptroller said while it may not to compare to the happiness he felt from being a grandfather Nicholas was proud of him for his political achievements and his brother for his successes in the court system.
“He saw me have my dreams in politics be fulfilled through this position and I know that gave him satisfaction,” DiNapoli said.
While his “real” interest was his family, the comptroller said Nicholas loved the outdoors and didn’t let his age change that.
“Last year, I came to the house and there was a ladder against a tree and he said he had to trim the tree,” DiNapoli said. “I said ‘you’re 91, you can’t go up there!”
He also said his father maintained a vegetable garden in his yard up until his final days.
Nicholas also enjoyed old western movies and sports, his son said.
DiNapoli said his father was one of the “originals” in his neighborhood.
“He loved getting to know the younger neighbors and tell them the history of the block and who lived here,” he said. “They were so good to him. During snowstorms, I didn’t have to worry because the neighbors loved him and took care of him.”
There was a wake for Nicholas on Tuesday and Wednesday at the Roslyn Heights Funeral Home.
A funeral service is scheduled for Thursday at 10 a.m. at St. Mary’s Church in Roslyn Harbor, where DiNapoli said his father was baptized as a child.
