But they also knew that running errands with their father meant allotting extra time with the guy that some affectionately referred to as the mayor.
“We’d be out and he’d finish talking to someone and I’d say, ‘you know that guy?’ He’d say ‘no,” said Celisse with a laugh. "He’d talk to a pole if he knew it would talk back and, honestly, that’s a trait that I got from him.
"He was just a very friendly guy that would talk to strangers like he knew them for years.''
Arnold Obey, a long-time educator and a pillar in Staten Island’s sports community starting from when he starred on Wagner College’s basketball team in the mid-1960s, passed away suddenly Sunday night while on a trip in Puerto Rico, the Advance has learned.
Charlie’s Take: You never heard a bad word about Arnold Obey ... and rightfully so
Staten Island sports enthusiast always had a warm smile ... and people noticed
In addition to Celisse and Tonya, Obey is survived by another daughter, Karyn; four grandchildren and his wife of 53 years, Cheryl.
"He was a great man and a great example of what it is to be a great human being,'' said Tonya of her father, who was 73.
Obey’s extensive resume included an educational career that included stints as a teacher, assistant principal and principal; a basketball career that ranged from player, coach and referee and an avid road-racing tenure that included nearly four decades running the New York City Marathon.
"He was a class act that was respected by so many,'' said Island road racing enthusiast Jeff Benjamin. "Arnold was very inclusive.''
HS, Wagner College and SIA
While growing up in the Bronx, Obey not only got acquainted with NBA legend Nate “Tiny” Archibald, but helped lead DeWitt Clinton HS to a 38-1 record, two Public School city championship games and one city title between his junior and senior years.
Obey passed on opportunities to go to Hofstra and Long Island Universities to attend Wagner in the fall of 1964 because, as he told the Advance in a 1993 story, "it was like being away, but not really being away. It was an hour-and-a-half from home, and I could go home without (the trip) being a burden on my family.”
The 6-foot-1 Obey went on to a Hall of Fame career at Wagner, starting three years for the Seahawks and leading them to a 54-29 record during his tenure. He scored 1,018 career points on Grymes Hill.
Obey served as an assistant at Wagner for three seasons and, after a hiatus from coaching, he became the boys’ varsity basketball coach at Staten Island Academy. He guided the Tigers from 1977-85.
Peter Rapp, currently SIA’s athletic director emeritus, not only remembers Obey’s playing days at Wagner, but was the man who hired him when he joined SIA’s coaching staff.
"I remember watching him play at Wagner, he was quick and always a team player,'' said Rapp. "He never worried about his stats, even though he’d eventually score 1,000 points there.
"And Arnold, no matter what he was doing, was always a gentleman who really cared about kids,'' added Rapp. "(As coach at SIA), I don’t remember him getting upset in the huddle. He was always great with the kids, mild-mannered and a shrewd tactician and we were fortunate to have him on our staff.''
Steve Zimmermann, another road racing enthusiast, remembers Obey’s Wagner days fondly.
"Arnold was a hero of mine as a Wagner Seahawks fan when I was younger and I had the pleasure of striking a friendship with him in the late 1970s,'' said Zimmermann, whose “Bookin’ It For Backpacks 5K” race committee honored Obey in 2015. "He had a unique sense of humor and was known for telling both the best and worst jokes.
"A piece of me died today that I’ll never get back.''
Obey, who was a Manor Heights resident, primarily taught history as a teacher and he started his career with the city’s Department of Education at PS 44 in Mariners Harbor before transferring to the Dreyfus Intermediate School (I.S. 49) in Stapleton.
He was a Drug Awareness Teacher during his tenure.
Eventually, Obey landed a job as an AP at PS 16 in Tompkinsville in the mid-1980s. His final position with the DOE, which he was appointed to in the early 1990s, was as principal at PS 31 in New Brighton. He retired from the DOE approximately 16 years ago, according to his daughters.
Obey also ran the night center at PS 18 in West Brighton for several years.
"He was just a remarkable guy to so many students and peers,'' said Benjamin, whose mother, Audrey, was former Dreyfus principal Bert Levinson’s secretary when Obey taught there. Benjamin was also a pupil of Obey’s wife when she was a teacher at the Laurie Intermediate School (I.S. 72) in New Springville. "He’s truly someone who effected so many people over the course of his life.''
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