‘The kind of guy we all aspire to be’

Friends and family members paid their last respects to Frank Fiumano last week, saying goodbye to a man who made family, country and education his top priorities throughout his 63 years.

Fiumano, a former longtime Hewlett-Woodmere school board member who was most recently the assistant superintendent for business of the Baldwin School District, was buried at Pinelawn Memorial Park on Feb. 18 after a funeral ceremony in his hometown of Hewlett. Fiumano died of cancer on Feb. 13.

“This man was a giant not only in stature … he had a giant intellect, a giant capacity to love, and a giant ability to inspire love,” said Alma Fiumano, Fiumano’s wife of 40 years. “Most of all, he had a giant heart, and he gave it freely.”

In a eulogy written by Alma, she explained that her husband, who she knew better as “Fran,” was passionate about many things. Fiumano enjoyed vacationing, held season tickets for the New York Giants for 45 years, played bridge, and was an avid bowler – he even bowled a 300 game. He served as a Marine in the Vietnam War, and, later in life, as a trustee on the Hewlett-Woodmere Board of Education.

 Alma also thanked the women that her husband worked with in the Baldwin School District’s business office.

“I truly believe that the women he worked with in Baldwin, the ones he always referred to as his second wives, kept him going,” Alma said. “When he was at work, I was at peace because I knew that these wonderful women were watching over him and taking care of him.”

The Rev. Tom Moriarty, who presided over the funeral ceremony, said that despite the tragic loss of Fiumano, some joy could be found in that Fiumano had gone to a better place. He urged Fiumano's friends and family to keep telling stories about him to keep his memory alive. “We thank God for who he was,” Moriarty said, “and for who he continues to be.”

Robert “B.A.” Schoen, a Baldwin school board trustee, said that Fiumano was as much a good person as he was a top administrator. Schoen said he has a great deal of respect for Fiumano's “grace and courage” through his battle with pancreatic cancer over the past year and a half. “He made sure that he lived those 19 months,” he said, “which I think is the way we all hope to live.