46.0°,
Light Drizzle ‘He was Cedarhurst in so many ways’
Lifelong Five Towns resident Andrew J. Parise is laid to rest
Hundreds of local dignitaries, residents, friends and relatives attended the funeral mass at St. Joachim’s R.C. Church in Cedarhurst on Friday to pay their respects to lifelong Five Towns resident Andrew J. Parise who died on Feb. 8 at 90.
Parise grew up in Inwood and settled in the Village of Cedarhurst as an adult. He served as the village mayor for nearly 20 years. Prior to that he served on the board under the late mayor Nicholas Farina from 1971 to 1995, including being deputy mayor.
“It is a good morning because we are here to say well done to a good and faithful servant,” Msgr. Paul Rahilly said of Parise. “Indeed, he went to God. I don’t mean this as any hyperbole, but on Sunday night, Feb. 8, around 11:15 p.m., Cedarhurst died. He was Cedarhurst, in so many ways.”
Benjamin Weinstock, who was named Cedarhurst’s acting mayor following Parise’s death, worked closely with the former mayor over the years and described him as “extraordinary member of an elite club, the greatest generation,” who was also like family, especially to his daughter, Liat, who attends the Stern College for Women at Yeshiva University.
“He distinguished himself in the military,” Weinstock told the Herald. “He was a thoughtful, caring leader, not afraid of a challenge, personally or politically. To my daughter, he was a surrogate grandfather. When I called her at school to tell her [he died], she was devastated.”
Linda Christine Foti, the former wife of one of Parise’s sons, referred to the strength of the Parise family as being like planets in orbit. “The Parises are too amazing to let anybody go,” she said. “I became part of their solar system. Like a planet, I’m in their gravitational pull of their love and warmth. The love spread on beyond me and more planets were born into this solar system.” Foti was married to David Parise.
