Family and friends will gather at the funeral home for visitation on Tuesday, November 24th from 2:00 - 4:30 and 7:00 - 9:30 p.m. The Funeral Mass will be offered on Wednesday, November 25th at 11:00 a.m. at Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Copiague. Interment with Military Honors conducted by the U.S. Navy Ceremonial Guard will follow at Flushing Cemetery at 1:00 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, remembrances in Manny's name may be made to Good Shepherd Hospice, Development Dept.; 110 Bi-County Blvd, Ste 114, Farmingdale, NY 11735; or to the Alzheimer's Association, P.O. Box 96011, Washington, D.C., 20090-6011. For your donation to go specifically to Research, please note "Research" in the memo section of your check. Make your checks payable to either charity and mention on your check that this is a Memorial Donation. Envelopes will be available at the funeral home also.
PANDEMIC REGULATIONS: We strictly adhere to the Governor's mandate during this pandemic. There is a limit of 35 visitors at any one time. Entry is by the REAR ENTRANCE only. Each visitor will be given a ticket upon entering the funeral home to ensure adherence to the mandate. If we reach capacity, no one will be admitted until others have left to allow others to enter. MASKS are required for entry. If you are sick, you are not permitted entry. If you have traveled from a state deemed restricted by the Governors Office, you must have either quarantined for 14 days prior to coming into New York or have achieved a negative COVID test.
=============================
Manny Gurrieri who has gracefully aged to his 96th year, has passed away on November 21, 2020.
Surrounded by the love of his family, Manny peacefully left this earth, leaving behind a legacy of 6 children, (Jeanette, Joanne, Anthony, Lenny, Barbara and Carolyn) 4 children in – laws (Don, Theresa, Richie, and Rosemary) 13 grandchildren (Susan, Vincent, Tricia, Tina, Lenny Jr., Nicholas, Michael, Joseph, Jackie, Stephanie, Eric, Christian and Courtney) and 14 great grandchildren (Anthony, Matthew, Anthony, Alyssa, Jackson, Johnny, Toni-Ann, Rosie, Riley, Nicholas Jr., Evan, Zoe, Giovanna, and Aurora). He is now reunited with his wife of 50 years (Rose) and his two parents, Rosaria and Augostino Gurrieri.
Born the eldest of three to Italian immigrants, Manny resided on the west side of Manhattan in Greenwich Village, near Washington Square. His humble beginnings during the great depression instilled in him, a strong work ethic and sense of appreciation and practicality. Manny was later drafted into the United States Navy to fight in WWII. Shortly after marrying his love, Manny embraced the role of husband and father. His approach to parenting was based in love and devotion. He demonstrated through practice, what it means to have integrity. He was an honest man and man of his word, who stood by his beliefs with conviction, and supported and provided a good life for his children.
With his innate ability to create and design things in his mind and onto paper, he was able to develop the skills needed to begin a pathway to a historic career in the field of aeronautics. Without the formal education needed, Manny was able to convince his employer of his capabilities, natural talent, and extensive knowledge. He was able to obtain employment as a draftsman and design engineer for Grumman Aerospace. Manny, in his many contributions, specifically created the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) ladder, the F-14 Tomcat, and the F-14 D cockpit designs. In addition to his monumental and historic career, Manny later practiced his craftmanship ability by working on various building projects, both big and small. These include such things as woodworking/shed building, electronics, model ships, planes and cars, doll houses and later jewelry making and crafts. He was later, a teacher/facilitator of card games and dominoes for his senior complex community.
Although dementia began to alter his physical, social and cognitive abilities, Manny began to develop an appreciation for the simpler things in life. Manny found enjoyment in doing such things as, shopping, taking out the garbage, getting the mail, watering the plants and watching the birds. His favorite thing to do was to visit the Chinese Buffet, but especially when accompanied by a family member or friend. His interest in all types of music became heightened and his enthusiasm for dancing was truly inspiring to all . Although his words were few, he was never short of saying his “I love you’s”.
Manny’s lovable nature won the hearts of his close friends, including his Health Care Aides. When he could, he was happy to share a story that would make them laugh, and show his appreciation for their hard work, with an occasional smile and/or eye brow raise of recognition. Although he didn’t call them by name, each one of them had a special place in his life, and he enjoyed the uniqueness of each individual “girl” that spent countless hours with him in his last years.
With his many accomplishments, milestones, and influences, of the people he has touched, Manny’s first priority was always his family. His eyes would beam with joy at the very mention of his grandchildren’s names, but especially when he was surrounded by them and his family. During his lifetime as father and grandfather, his main priority was to pave the way for and help prepare his children to have a good life. He gave all he could, by sacrificing the things he “could have had” but chose not to, in order to give to his family later on. He accomplished this through hard work, discipline and selflessness, to enable himself to set the ground work for his children’s future. His wish was to leave his children and grandchildren in a position where they would be stable, secure, safe and surrounded by abundance.
Even more so, than making his mark in history, by helping put the first man on the moon, his love for his family, is the true legacy of this incredible and amazing man.
He is now greeted by God at the gates of heaven. And when Jesus asks him if he believes he has lived a virtuous life, rest assured his answer should be yes!
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18