Bucaria, 55, is the third son of Alfred and Catherine Bucaria, born in Richmond Hill, Queens, in 1958. The family moved to Garden City two years later, where Bucaria spent the remainder of his childhood. He earned a degree in history from Villanova University in 1980, and a law degree from the University of Bridgeport School of Law — now Quinnipiac’s law school — five years later.

Bucaria met his future wife, Eileen Burke, in Avon-by-the-Sea, N.J., where they shared a beach house with friends one summer. They married in 1987, and Catherine was born in 1989. The family moved to the village in 1991, and their son, Michael, was born the following year.

“Tom is humble, compassionate and committed to others,” Eileen said. “He works tirelessly for those in need. We joke that his booming voice on the loudspeaker at Hickey Field has won him the title of the ‘Voice of the Challenger League,’ but in fact he’s the voice of the vulnerable: the hungry, the forgotten, the frightened.

“And he’s one of the funniest people you’ll ever meet,” she added, “as long as you love to laugh at very bad puns.”

Bucaria is the first person to mention the charity of others. When prompted, eyes lighting up, he will talk at length about the incredible things he sees people do for others every day, always playing down his own efforts.

And yet, you’d be hard pressed to find an activity Bucaria is involved with that isn’t dedicated to charity or community service. An attorney in District Court in Hempstead, he chairs the Lawyers Assistance Program, which helps attorneys who are dealing with financial or emotional issues. He also sits on the board of the We Care Fund, which distributes charitable grants to improve the lives of children, the elderly and others in need across the county, and for the past 13 years he has dressed as Santa Claus for the fund’s annual Gingerbread University fundraiser. And years after his son became an Eagle Scout, he still chairs Troop 163’s planning committee and works as a merit badge counselor.

“Tom has tremendous spirit, a big heart and a good soul,” said Bucaria’s friend Kevin McDonough, a village justice. “These qualities manifest themselves in everything he does.”