By:Laura Lane
With the game set to continue the next day, Nunziato surprised no one when he asked the opposing team-s coach if the girls could start over.
My father wasn-t for winning the game, his daughter Joanna, 20, said. He was more for everyone having a good time. He said to let the girls start over because that way they-d get to play six innings.
It-s the kind of classy move that has endeared Nunziato to people in the 15 years he-s coached in Central Nassau-s softball and basketball leagues.
Nunziato was diagnosed with stage-four lung cancer last August. He had a kidney stone removed the previous summer and seemed to be in good health, though he was suffering from some leg pain. Tests revealed he had lung cancer, which had spread to the femur in his right leg.
Once so active, Nunziato has struggled ever since to stay alive.
Everyone in the Salisbury area of East Meadow seems to know Nunziato. Always smiling, he-s long been an active member of the community, coaching the many softball and basketball teams his daughters Joanna, and Christina, 13, were on. Nunziato was always there.
Several families from the Central Nassau Little League are organizing a fund-raiser to help the Nunziato family, and also to thank Tom for his commitment to the community. Those pulling the event together aren-t close friends of the Nunziato family most only know Tom through sports. But that doesn-t seem to matter.
He was such a good guy when he coached, we all want to help him now, said Barbara Leonard, fund-raiser co-coordinator. Everything about him was nice. I remember when he chose his team, he chose all of his daughter-s friends instead of including some of the older, more seasoned players. We said, ÔYou-re going to get killed,- and he said as long as the kids had fun, he didn-t care. We called his team the Ônice team.-
Even before Nunziato was diagnosed with cancer, he had to overcome an unexpected challenge. He worked in airline cargo sales, and was laid off after Sept. 11, 2001. As he searched for a new career, the Nunziato family experienced some tough times.
He eventually landed a job as facilities manager at St. Raphael-s Roman Catholic Church, which his wife, Carol, said he loved. Tom got in touch with his spirituality at St. Raphael-s, she said. He loved being there, and the people of the parish loved him being there too.
Vic Costa, a deacon from the church, has been Nunziato-s spiritual advisor since September. We always talk about getting him back to work, Costa said. And throughout his illness, he-s always said he hopes he-s made a difference in some people-s lives. He loved every minute of working with the girls in sports.
Costa added that Nunziato-s main objective in coaching was to teach the girls fair play and the importance of trying, Costa said. Even as he struggles through his illness, Costa said, the former Little League manager continues to practice what he preached. Tom is always very positive, he said. He-s very anxious to lick this thing.
But doctors discovered that the cancer had spread after Nunziato underwent hip-replacement surgery. When he came home, he was so sick, and we thought it was a reaction to the radiation and chemo, Carol said. But then they found a tumor in his brain the size of a tennis ball. They operated and got the whole tumor, and he went home. But then he had to go back a week later for pain management.
Carol said the family was able to celebrate Christmas together, and Tom seemed to be doing well. But last Friday her husband felt pain in his abdomen and leg. The cancer in his lung is getting smaller, but now they say it could be in his liver, Carol said. He has it in his lymph nodes, too. He just doesn-t deserve this.
Nunziato is back in the hospital, undergoing further tests. But his wife says his spirits remain high. He-s so amazing, she said. You know he had to learn to walk again twice, once after the hip replacement and then after brain surgery. He hasn-t given up.
Ever since W.T. Clarke Middle School seventh-grader Lindsey Calderone found out her former coach was sick, she has been busy making him cards. Lindsey has played softball and basketball under Nunziato. He used to always tell me, ÔDon-t get upset, you-ll get it the next time,- Lindsey said. I told him once that one of these days I-m going to get 21 home runs. Then each time I got a home run he-d say, ÔIt-s the 21st home run.- He was always so funny.
Carol said her husband was surprised when he learned about the fund-raiser on his behalf. Sometimes when you go through this sort of thing, you wonder about what kind of life you led, Carol said. When Tom heard of the fund-raiser, he was happy and felt he did mean a lot to a lot of people. To have this kind of recognition means so much to him.
Comments about this story? LLane@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
