Sadly, I came upon this by accident. Mike worked for the same company as my Dad for over 30 years. I remember Mike as a Towering Figure. When someone says, The Greatest Generation, I think of Mike. He exuded confidence and that made him a Great Salesman.  I remember shopping for a bicycle and ending up in Mike’s car. We went to Stuyvesant Bicycle but the Salesman wouldn’t budge on the price. Mike whispered to me,” Let me do the talking”. The Salesman still wouldn’t budge.  Finally, Mike told the Salesman a Marine story. It worked.  I would see Mike through the years in various places. He would be playing Tennis in Port Washington when I brought my son. I would see him on Dune Road in Westhampton Beach. He was always smiling and sending regards to my Mom. If you are  Fortunate, Once  in Your Life You will Meet a Towering Inspirational Figure Like Mike. Rest In Peace.

I am honored to perform military honors and play Taps for this Marine today.   Semper Fi, Marine.  

Chief Tim Griffin
Stevens Police Department. 

Dear Iris

I am so sorry for your loss and so glad to have read your memory of Mike. My father, Bernie, grew up with Mike and the Trojans.   I would love to have the chance to talk with you and share our stories of our fathers.  Please email or call me:  Eric Reisman, reisvid@comcast.net, cell phone 410-707-8675.  

I look forward to talking to you.

Sincerely, 

Eric Reisman, proud son of Bernie Reisman

In ’63, he marched in Washington DC with the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr and he later  travelled to DC in the late 60’s with my mother, Janet,  to talk to the boys returning from Vietnam who were maimed in the war, boys who thought their lives were not worth living as they’d lost a limb.  My parents proved to them their value and that they were special and worthwhile.  They listened to them and many became fathers because of his example.

He was a loving husband to his wife, Gloria and a second father to Leslie.  A beloved father to Richard (Bonnie), myself, and a brilliant grandfather to our children, Rose, Ted, Ivy and Tom.  He was an extraordinary uncle, a near second father to his nieces and nephews.
There are so many stories to share and these are a few that have helped me to become the person that I am today.  I know everyone who knows him, has their own stories to tell.

On Sunday, the 4th of April, my father passed away, way too quickly.  
Stay safe and loving.  There is an angel in our midst with a smile and joke to make you giggle and shine.
He lives on in the memories, the stories, the photographs and in my heart.  Truly, one of a kind, the kind hearted, forever young in spirit and soul, my Daddio…



How do I begin to describe the man that is my father, my Daddio?
I think it is in the memories, the stories and the events that will paint the picture of this man, Michael Alhanti. 

When I was a girl, we lived in New Jersey, fifteen minutes by car to the George Washington Bridge which would take you into Manhattan and from there, the other four boroughs.  My dad would pull over his Hillman Minx, which was the size of Fiat, open the back door and invite all the housekeepers sitting at the bus stop on the cold winter days and in the heat of summer, to hop into the car so he could drive them to the bridge saving them time and hard earned money.  They would pile in the back seat, squished, grateful and giggling for their good fortune.  

On Sundays mornings, he would gather me up and say, “Let’s go visiting.”  We would jump in his car and knock on the doors of old friends and older aunts.  They would open the door with open arms when they saw him.  He always had a smile on his face and a joke to tell.  HIs joy was contagious, it could not be helped, his youthful spirit was infinite and his affect on all that came into his company was one of joy, love, and wellness.

His service in the Marine Corp, of which he was so proud, left him an amputee, although you would never know it.  He would take us ice skating in frozen-over-ponds and then warm our toes in the heater of the Chevy.  He did handstands on the diving board at Castle Hill Pool Club in the Bronx, and he would play tennis until the ripened age of 80. 

He saved a neighborhood kid’s life from drowning in quicksand by removing his leg and using it as a life saver for the boy to grab onto so he could pull him out.
He stopped an armed robbery at his favorite bakery in Manhattan by talking the robbers out of stealing the till and he saved a young couple by pulling them out of a burning car on his way home from work.
(Continued in next memory)

My deepest condolences to Mike’s family.  He was a good friend of my parents since their childhood in the Bronx, and they stayed in touch until they each passed away.  I spoke to Mike a couple of years ago after my mom died, something made me think of him today, and a search brought me to his obituary.  I’m not surprised, but so sad.  He was a special man.  

Mike Alhanti was one of the sweetest, funniest guys I knew.  He was a Gentle Man, who loved life, was full of emotion, and was not afraid to show it.  He and my father grew up together in the South Bronx, and together were the founding members of a group of guys that calls themselves The Trojans.  Theirs was a brotherhood that lasted  more than 80 years.

Mike was a proud man.  Proud of his service to his country, proud of his family, proud of his emotional ties to the Trojans, and proud of his work.  To meet Mike was to love him.  He was a successful salesman because he treated you like his brother.   

One more of the brothers is gone.  He now will join the others.  Can you imagine that reunion?  After the catcalls and name calling, the cries of “Where the hell have you been?” will come the love and outpouring of gratitude of once again being together.  They will say a collective prayer for the two brothers still on earth, a prayer for their long life so that when they come to the next meeting they will have rich new stories to share.

Goodbye Mike.  I love you.  I am grateful for your friendship with my father, and for what you meant to him.  You helped shape his life, and in turn helped shape mine.  You are one of the role models I had of what a Gentle Man should be.  You showed the compassion, emotion, and honesty that I feel all men should show.  You were not afraid to show that side of yourself.  You helped define this quality, that all of the Trojans adapted.  You were still boys, experimenting with this concept, but you grew into the role.  Thank you for being that role model for me.  Tell Dad that I miss him and think about him all the time.  I am comforted by the fact that you will be together swapping stories and creating new ones. 


OBITUARY

Isaac Michael Alhanti

7 August, 1927 – 5 April, 2020

Riverside Memorial Chapel

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