Former East Rockaway mayor dies

Former East Rockaway Mayor Charles Formont died suddenly on Oct. 21.

Formont, who was known as Charlie, was a village trustee from 1987 to 1995 and served two terms as mayor from 1995 to 2003. A lifelong village resident, he was a member of the East Rockaway Fire Department and Rescue Squad for 49 years. He was retired from the NYPD, where he spent 21 years in the 20th Precinct on Manhattan’s Upper West Side.

“He was great guy, a kind soul, a friend and a mentor,” said East Rockaway Mayor Ed Sieban. “He was a great example of what a public servant should be.”

Sieban added that the village saw a host of improvements and changes during Formont’s administration, including the expansion of the library and the initial work on revitalizing the waterfront. Formont initiated the recycling program, expanded the senior center, computerized Village Hall, refurbished the Veterans Memorial, had the roads raised to reduce flooding and secured the grants that launched the waterfront revitalization project at the Talfor Boat Basin.

“Charlie worked each day to improve the quality of life for the residents that he served,” Sieban said.

Formont was a descendant of Elbridge Gerry, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a vice president of the U.S. during James Madison’s administration. A past president of the Kiwanis Club and a member of the Georgia Wright Animal Foundation, Formont was also a founding member of the Joseph R. Pagliaro memorial charity People Helping People.

“My strongest memory of Charlie is a personal one,” said Deputy Mayor Richard Meagher, who served with Formont as a trustee under Mayor Irving Shaw, and then again under Formont. “When my late wife, Gail, was ill and needed to be brought swiftly to South Nassau Hospital in 1998, we called the Rescue Squad — and it was the mayor, Charlie Formont, who drove her there. That’s the kind of man and mayor that he was.”

In a poignant turn of events, The Elks Lodge #1 was recognizing Formont for his lifetime of achievement on the night that he died.

He is survived by his wife, Lorraine; son Christopher and daughter-in-law Erica; grandchildren Hailey and Kaycee; sister Ethel Gilloon and brother-in-law Dan; sister-in-law Mildred A. Pagliaro; niece Donna and nephews Danny, Kenny, Joseph and Andrew.

A service was held on Monday at Perry’s Funeral Home in Lynbrook, and interment followed at Holy Rood Cemetery in Westbury. In lieu of flowers, Formont’s family requests that donations be sent to the Joseph Pagliaro Memorial Charity, 121 Rhame Ave., East Rockaway, NY 11518.

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