Frank J. Ghiorsi

It is with deep sadness that the family of Frank J. Ghiorsi announce his death which occurred at sunrise on Friday, the 4th of March, 2022 at his home in West Orange, New Jersey, at the age of 93 and in a state of grace and peaceful absolution.

Frank was born in 1928 in New York, New York, the older of two sons born to Peter Frank “Dutchie” and Clementine Frances Ghiorsi. Reared in Brooklyn, with summers spent at the Great Kills waterside family house, Frank attended and graduated from Stuyvesant High School and St. Francis College. He joined the post-WW II Naval Air Force at age 17 and spent two years in active service followed by four years of reserve duty.

Frank, also known as Sonny, first met his future wife Joyce (the love of his life) in 1949. They became engaged in 1951 with marriage the following year. After graduation from college in 1952 he joined the NYPD. In 1956 he was asked to become a pioneer, founding member of the AIS (Accident Investigation Squad) for the City of New York-NYPD. He later became a Sergeant and the commanding officer for that city-wide unit, instituting new methods of forensic investigative work for the AIS team. In 1977 Frank retired from the AIS-NYPD. Due to his vast and intimate knowledge of accident investigation and reconstruction methods, and his expert witness trial testimony history, he was recruited and offered a position with the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board). He joined the organization and remained with the Safety Board from 1978 until his retirement in 1999, retiring as the Director of the Northeast Region of the United States after initially being the Safety Board’s New York field chief and a Washington D.C. investigator and project director. Frank continued on to a third career as a investigative consultant and reconstructive analyst for those hard-to-solve cases presented to him by Champagne Associates Engineering firm which lasted into the final decade of his life.

Frank was and still is regarded as one of the foremost accident investigators and reconstruction analyst experts in the world.

A brain, a wit, a man with kindness who knew the appropriateness of every life situation and event, he as an innate possessor of keen intelligence, inventiveness, subtle forthrightness, and intuitive smarts; a good husband and a father who took the time to instill solid, time-tested values in his children, he was someone who was able to successfully focus on specifics, yet see the significance of the larger surround.

He saved lives on several occasions and spent his college years working a part-time job at St. Vincent’s Home for Boys where he took pride in helping adolescent, troubled boys develop character and life skills through athletics. He was a Christian Youth Organization director, Boy Scout Leader, coach, and volunteer wherever needed. He remained a star athlete himself, throughout the years, and a noted baseball pitcher of his day who was offered pitching contracts by both the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Giants baseball teams. He chose to pursue college instead.

Family and friends of Frank Ghiorsi loved and admired him. He was a true blue, solid man with that innate gift of authenticity and principled integrity, and a humor that brought more enjoyment to life events that were also enriched by his smile.

Husband of the late Joyce, who died eleven months ago, and older brother of the late Walter, Frank is survived by his three children, Janice Crowley (James), Lawrence Ghiorsi (Susan), and Peter Ghiorsi. He is also survived by three grandchildren; Lauren Manning (John), James Crowley (Margaret), and Daniel Crowley (Kiera), and six great-grandchildren; Ryan, Luke, and Maeve Manning, James and Tyler Crowley, and Lilah Crowley; along with four nieces and two nephews.

As it was with his late wife, Frank had a special bond and presence with his late granddaughter Kristen Crowley. He made her smile and she gave him a joy that exemplified the value of life. They now all remain together again in a perfection achieved only in the light of the Lord.

We do not die in darkness, we die in light and in light we remain forevermore.

Funeral services with a Mass of Christian burial will be held at St. Joseph’s Church in West Orange, New Jersey, located at 44 Benvenue Avenue on Thursday, the 10th of March at 11:15 am. Burial will be private and with military honors. If desired, donations may be made, in Frank’s memory, to the Rett Syndrome Foundation (rettsyndrome.org).