Paul Michael Ferrotti

Paul Ferrotti passed away peacefully on Wednesday, December 11th with his daughters by his side in his home in Coconut Creek, Florida. Paul was born on July 28, 1934 in Brooklyn, New York, the younger of two sons of Girolamo and Caterina Ferrotti.

Paul is predeceased by his brother Salvatore, in 2020. As a child, he and his family moved to Staten Island where he met the love of his life Olympia Aiello at an all city high school choir event. After 36 years of marriage in 1992, Olympia sadly passed away. They resided in Rocky Point, Long Island where they raised their two daughters, Marisa and Stephanie. In 1960, Paul graduated from Wagner College with a degree in Italian and then went on to earn his Masters and PhD from Rutgers University in 1964.

Paul was an outstanding foreign language teacher, beginning his academic career at Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey, and then spending over 30 years at Commack High School South in Long Island, New York where he was the chairman of the foreign language department. One of the greatest highlights of Paul’s career was being a Fulbright Scholar recipient and studying in Rome, Italy. Paul later became the Director of the Teacher Certification Program in Foreign Languages at Stony Brook University, where he also taught methodologies in teaching other languages. Paul’s strong Catholic faith opened the door of opportunities to teach priests, and seminarians in the Diocese of Rockville Centre at the Huntington Seminary and for the Brooklyn Diocese at Cathedral College of the Immaculate Conception where he was the Director of the Foreign Language Summer Institute for 30 years. Lastly, for a number of summers, Paul was a professor at the Pontifical North American College at the Vatican City State. Besides teaching high school, college students, seminarians and priests, Paul even instructed English for several years to a group of Polish cloistered nuns at the Missionary Sisters of St. Benedict in Huntington, New York.

His passion for teaching inspired many of his students to follow in his footsteps. During his career, Paul also became a member of the Modern Language Association. This organization is composed of scholars, teachers and researchers who promote the study and teaching of languages and literature. Additionally, Paul was part of the New York State Regents Board which created questions for the Italian and Spanish state regents exams. Paul taught thousands of students over a 60 year academic career, bringing hundreds of them to Italy on school sponsored trips, exposing them to the country’s rich culture and language.

Even in his retirement years as an octogenarian, retired and living in south Florida, he tutored students at Broward Community College. Paul was an enthusiastic lifelong learner with an ever curious mind, who lit up any room he entered with his gregarious personality, melodic, baritone voice and beaming smile. He enjoyed spending time with his family and friends traveling, playing the piano, taking long walks, reading, playing cards, cooking delicious Italian dinners, watching tennis, and historical documentaries and listening to all genres of music.

He always said his greatest accomplishment was his loving family, his beautiful wife and his two adoring daughters. They themselves became teachers, just like both of their parents. Paul’s remarkable life will be treasured forever in the lives of his children: Marisa Gargano and her husband, Anthony Gargano of Brewster, New York and Stephanie Ferrotti-Nazar and her husband, Christopher Nazar of East Northport, New York. He was the loving grandfather of 4 children: Lia (Gargano) Ehrlich (Kyle), Matthew Gargano (Paige), Daniel Nazar, and Michael Nazar. Paul will be deeply missed by his family and friends and all who knew him.

A Christian mass will be held after the holidays at St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church in East Northport, New York, celebrating Paul’s life. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in memory of Paul Ferrotti to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (www. stjude.org).