Honoring a hero

Hundreds attend Lynbrook funeral for NYPD Sgt. Christopher Christodoulou

Posted

Police barriers closed off Merrick Road, from Fowler Avenue to John Street, last Saturday as dozens of New York City police officers and firefighters lined the street outside Our Lady of Peace Church. They stood at attention as eight NYPD officers carried the casket of Lynbrook resident and NYPD Sgt. Christopher Christodoulou, 45, to a hearse after his funeral service.

An NYPD helicopter roared overhead, police vehicles blasting sirens drove by, and as the hearse brought Christodoulou to St. Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale for his burial, the Pipes & Drums of the Emerald Society of the NYPD played “Going Home.”

Minutes earlier, family friend Joseph Tranor had given Christodoulou’s eulogy before a crowd of several hundred. Every pew in Our Lady of Peace was full, and many mourners — several in uniform — had to stand at the side or in the back.

“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened,” Tranor said, quoting Dr. Seuss. “... As much as we mourn Chris’s loss, we owe it to him to celebrate his life.” Tranor shared several stories about Christodoulou, including his reaction to first hearing his friend’s name. “If you knew Chris, when you first met him, the first thing you said was, ‘Chris Christodoulou? Really?’” he said.

Christodoulou was part of the NYPD counterterrorism unit, and his cancer was a result of working at ground zero after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. He is survived by his wife, Melissa; children, Amanda, 15, Bryan, 9, and Nicholas, 6; his parents, Vasilios and Dorothy; his brother, Joseph; and sister, Suzanne Tufano. 

During Mass, Bishop Robert Brennan spoke about the adjectives Christodoulou’s children used to describe their father. “Loving, outstanding, cute, funny, playful, a perfect dad, a great police officer, smart and had a smile like a light bulb,” Brennan said. 

Christodoulou will be remembered for his kindness, his love of the New York Rangers and his penchant for singing songs at the top of his lungs, including “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond, a favorite of his.

Tranor noted that Christodoulou’s singing often embarrassed his daughter, but they had a tremendous bond. He recounted Christodoulou once breaking some bad news to Amanda via text: Zayn Malik had left One Direction. Tranor said that it was actions like that — showing a passion for something he wouldn’t normally care about to remain close with his daughter — which defined Christodoulou.

Tranor also told a story about Chris and his mother. According to Tranor, a young Christodoulou once pestered Dorothy on her birthday because he wanted to go outside, and she kept asking him to help her clean the house. After he persisted, she finally got fed up and let him go.

“What she didn’t know was that he had somehow put together about $1.27,” Tranor said. “And the reason he wanted to leave was so that he could buy flowers for his mom’s birthday.” Though he had some trouble finding a florist willing to sell him a bouquet for that amount, Christodoulou eventually returned home with the flowers, and made his mother cry.

It was his good-hearted nature that drew Melissa to him. The couple met through a mutual friend in Brooklyn. They married on Oct. 2, 1999, and moved to Lynbrook in 2006. 

“Chris was an amazing father and husband,” Melissa told the Herald. “After he got sick, he fought so hard to be here for his kids each day. He fought so hard to stay alive.” Melissa said she was grateful to the NYPD for all of its support during Chris’s cancer battle, and for putting together a beautiful service for him.

Christodoulou joined the NYPD in 1997, and was eventually promoted to sergeant. But, Tranor recalled, it took him time to get used to some of his job’s duties — including arresting people. Tranor shared a story about the first arrest his friend ever made, while assigned to the 60th Precinct in Brooklyn. “He kept on apologizing to the man for arresting him,” Tranor said as laughter filled the church. “... At some point later on, the man who was arrested asked if he could speak to Chris again, and the man proceeded to console Chris, explaining that he understood that Chris was only doing his job and it wasn’t his fault that he got arrested.”

Despite his initial uneasiness, Christodoulou eventually adjusted and became a well-respected police officer. Tranor said that when Christodoulou was at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan days before his death, his lieutenant shared with his loved ones that Christodoulou was always the one he counted on to keep his colleagues calm in high-pressure situations.

On Sept. 16, Christodoulou’s battle with cancer ended as he died at the cancer center, surrounded by family and friends. About 60 members of the FDNY and NYPD came to visit him over the course of his three-day stay at Sloan Kettering. “Chris took a deep breath,” Tranor said. “He opened his eyes and looked at Melissa. He tried to say something, but couldn’t. And instead, he smiled at Melissa. And after almost a year and a half of heroic effort and almost three days of being surrounded by family, filled with love and affection, and after seeing the love of his life one more time, Christopher Michael chose to rest.”

Tranor urged those in attendance not to define Christodoulou by his illness, but to remember and mirror his spirit. “Chris lived a life defined by quiet strength, courage, compassion and service,” he said. “It’s our turn now to keep the faith for Chris. Chris gave us an example of how to live, and it’s our job to emulate that.”