Rockville Centre mayor's mom gets birthday surprise

It was months in the planning, but the surprise 80th birthday bash that included a real trip down memory lane, a Mass and a celebratory brunch for Mayor Mary Bossart’s mother, Veronica Whalen, came off without a hitch.

The weekend-long celebration started as the party bus rented by Mayor Bossart’s brothers and sisters pulled up at Mrs. Whalen’s Rockville Centre home on May 1. As her children piled out of it, Whalen watched in amazement.

According to Bossart, the first stop was the Tenement Museum on Orchard Street in Manhattan. Many of the members of Whalen’s family lived on the Lower East Side after arriving in New York City around the time of the Civil War. Additional family members met them there and joined the bus tour. Bossart said it was a great way to start because it gave all of them — children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren — a chance to appreciate how much work went into their family succeeding as Americans. 

The family also visited the house where Whalen was born on Avenue C, her grandparents' homes, her first workplace at 15 Broad Street (she worked for Breed, Abbott and Morgan, a law firm), the 69th Regiment Armory where she and her husband had their first date, the Landmark Tavern where they celebrated their 25th anniversary, Bloomingdale's (where Whalen liked to meet her mother and sister to shop when she went out for a day in the city).

They then drove across the 59th Street Bridge to Bossart’s father’s childhood home in Astoria, then on to her parent’s first apartment as a married couple in Phipps Gardens and eventually to Maspeth where Whalen spent most of her formative years in the house she knew as her grandparents'. All along the way Veronica told her family stories and simply enjoyed a very personal trip down memory lane. The day ended back at the mayor’s house for a quick dinner.

On Sunday, Msgr. James Kelly said Mass for the family and friends after which everyone headed to the Hempstead Country Club. About 70 people enjoyed brunch and a Front Street birthday cake. They also enjoyed a slide show the mayor’s brother and niece compiled of photos of Veronica from her youth until now.

Mayor Bossart said that members of her family had a great time and feel blessed that they had the opportunity to share the weekend with Veronica to celebrate how much she means to them.