Thursday, October 1, 2026
Seaford High School hosted the first annual Bill Bongiorno Car Show on Oct. 4, raising funds for scholarships that support students pursuing a trade school education.
The show was held in honor of Bongiorno, an alumnus of the high school who died in February at age 76 after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in May 2024. His wife, Catherine, said he had a special place in his heart for Seaford, and that the scholarship created in partnership with the high school is a fitting way to pay tribute to him.
“Just to know that his legacy is continuing through such a good cause would mean so much to him, because he loved to work with his hands and create things,” Catherine Bongiorno, who lives in Seaford, said. “To know that these kids are benefitting from money we’ve raised because of who Bill was — it’s quite a heartwarming experience, and it’s just so great to know that his name continues to be a part of Seaford High School.”
She said the scholarship was created for students interested in learning a trade because her husband was passionate about that type of career.
“He graduated in 1967, and I graduated in 1968,” she said. “We were married and had two sons. From high school, he went into the construction industry and formed a company called Great Bay Contracting. He worked with his hands and developed a company that, eventually when he retired, my son was able to buy and continue, which now is quite a successful construction company.”
In addition to his trade work, she said, her husband held a passion for classic cars, which is why the car show fundraiser was created.
“He loved the car shows, and he had several classic cars over the years,” Catherine Bongiorno said. “He had a black car that was at the show, a ‘52 Chevy, which was the same type of car that we had when we were dating at 17 years old. That was something that when we saw it, we had to have it.”
She said cars were her husband’s way of bonding with friends.
“He would put together any of our friends who have the classic cars,” she said. “We’d get together on the weekend and take a ride to Shelter Island with the cars and have lunch. We always did some kind of gathering together. It was all about friendship and coming together to have a good time.”
Bill Bongiorno’s brother, Joe, created the fundraiser, which brought in more than $10,000 for the inaugural event.
“They charged $20 per car to come in, and then we had a donation box set up,” Catherine Bongiorno said. “Slomin’s oil company donated an ice cream truck, so we put up a sign that made a suggested donation of $2 for the ice cream.”
She said the high school’s principal, Nicole Schnabel, was instrumental in ensuring the funds were accepted by the school and will be distributed to students.
“The school deposits the money into a money market or CDs, and they’ll distribute it over the years,” Catherine Bongiorno said. “In the coming years, we’ll do two students, a boy and a girl going into trade, and they’ll each get $3,000.”
Schnabel had a plaque made in Bill Bongiorno’s honor that hangs in the shop at the high school.
“It says, ‘Mr. Bill Bongiorno, always in our hearts. Class of ‘67,’” Catherine Bongiorno said. “He took all the shop courses in high school, so to know that he’s remembered in that area in that school is just overwhelming.”
She added that his friend, Joe Vitarelli, spearheaded efforts to establish the Bill Bongiorno Scholarship Fund.
“(Vitarelli) took it on himself to contact the school and make sure that it was going to be a scholarship for kids going into the trades because he knew his friend was so involved in that,” she said. “They were friends for 30 years and met through business.”
While this was the first car show fundraiser, the first scholarship presentation was held last year, when four Seaford High School students were chosen as recipients.
“We had two twin brothers who were going into electrical school and two girls who were going into nursing,” Catherine Bongiorno said.
The car show and scholarship fund are a reflection of her husband’s legacy, she said.
“Bill was a fun, loving guy, very smart with his hands. He loved to renovate and to take something that needed fixing and do it,” she said. “He loved to give things a new life when he found something.”
