|
|
In Memoriam |
 |
 |
||
|
Eugene J. Fasullo April 20, 1931 – October 30, 2020 Obituary Eugene “Gene” Fasullo left an indelible impression on so many during his 89 years. For family, friends and colleagues, the news of his peaceful passing on October 30, 2020 will stir fond memories of a man who lived life passionately, in so many ways. Central to Gene’s approach to life was his ability to “think outside the box”. This was seen early in his life when he applied to and attended City Polytechnic High School. This required him to break away from the norm of going to the local neighborhood school and instead he commuted by subway to school to receive an expanded education. Doing so worked out for Gene as it marked the beginning of a long love affair with engineering. After high school, Gene served two years in the Marines which provided him with college tuition benefits through the GI Bill. He earned a B.S. from Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute and a M.S. from the University of Illinois. Then, through lucky happenstance, he applied for a civil engineer position with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. He was hired as an entry level engineer. As the years passed, he earned a reputation for being a creative visionary who excelled at clearly defining a goal and determining the most efficient path to its accomplishment. Eventually, this led to his appointment as Chief Engineer and Director of Engineering for the Port Authority. Gene felt passionate about engineers being an integral part to the successful execution of every phase of a construction project. After he retired from the Port Authority, in addition serving as a consultant to construction projects, he worked to promote the role of the engineer through speaking engagements and by working in education as a professor. Throughout his career, Gene received recognition from many organizations for his contributions to construction projects, as well as to the field of civil engineering. His life experiences - from the ordinary to the truly extraordinary - became the material for Gene’s engaging, and often funny, stories. He was a prolific storyteller and would happily spin a tale from one of his experiences to share with a willing audience, of any size. Gene deemed even everyday experiences to be worthy of a story, which reflected his appreciation for the “little things” in life. He often provided an enthusiastic report to family or friends about what he ate for lunch, the score of his latest tennis match, or how many runs he made at the ski slope recently. Gene spoke fondly about the pleasures of growing up in a time when life was more simple. He shared memories of playing games in the streets with friends, eating fresh pasta made by his mother, watching his father make wine in their home cellar, and being surrounded by immediate and extended family at all times in Brooklyn. Gene was also willing to tell stories about the extraordinary events of his life, even those of a harrowing nature . The story heard by the greatest number of people, resulting in his “15 minutes of fame”, was that about his experience of the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. Not only did he survive being trapped - along with several others - in a smoke filled elevator, but after doing so he immediately went to work to assess the safety of the building and direct the efficient stabilization, recovery and restoration of it. Many organizations - from local radio stations, to engineering organizations, to the Wall Street Journal - asked Gene to share the story of his unique experience of this event. Beyond sharing stories, Gene found great pleasure in sitting at a table with family and friends and simply talking, and sometimes debating, about a wide range of subjects. His curious, philosophical mind was evident through the questions he asked of friends or family members about their life experiences as well as the probing thoughts he had about the nature of being human. When he wasn’t at work, Gene could be found participating in his favorite activities. In his thirties, a passion for playing tennis factored into the purchase of a home in Ridgewood, NJ. Living in Ridgewood provided the opportunity to play tennis on a regular basis at two local tennis clubs after arriving home by train from the city. He relished playing tennis with family and friends for over five decades. The game of tennis was so near and dear to Gene’s heart that his wife, Maxine, arranged for his racket to be laid to rest with him! Gene could be quite adventurous as seen when he hitchhiked from New York to Mexico and when he carried a “how to ski” book out to the slopes and followed its step-by-step instructions to try out the sport. He loved to travel to other parts of the world or the U.S. with Maxine, especially to spend time with their blended family of children and grandchildren. Perhaps lesser known about Gene is that he loved to play piano on a regular basis and partner dance at special events. Yes, Gene was a renaissance man!
Gene is
survived by his wife, Maxine Hyrkas; his sister, Marie
Zodda; his brother, Vincent Fasullo; his sons, Greg
(Ashley) Fasullo, John (Lisa) Fasullo, and Todd (Andrea)
Fasullo; his step-daughters, Dawn (John) Woo and Lori
(Bill) Christiano; his grandchildren, Carter, Samantha,
Willie, Emma, Harley, Rachel, Lia, Owen and Jolie; and
numerous nieces and nephews. He is predeceased by his
parents, Joseph and Frances Fasullo and his brother, Tom
Fasullo. To protect the health of friends and family
members during the current pandemic, no services will be
held. You are warmly welcomed to leave a comment to
honor the memory of Gene at:
In lieu of
flowers, please donate to The Moles Charitable Fund.
Gene was a proud member of this organization which
established a fund to promote engineering of heavy
construction projects as a career path . Donations can
be sent to: The Moles Charitable Fund, 50 Chestnut Ridge
Road, Suite 102, Montvale, NJ 07645.
Gene was one of the heroes of the 93 bombing, and we
will never forget the story of digging out of the
elevator with a key using the light of a beeper. He was
critical to the restoration and recovery of the trade
center in less than three weeks. Remember the trade
center was bombed on 26 February, 1993 and opened with
the governor being the first tenant on March 19 less
than three weeks later. What a team we had Then and
Stan, our executive director was our great leader. I was
Privileged and proud to be the director of World Trade.
I
feel a sense of loss that yet another friend and
colleague has moved on. Gene was feisty, smart,
adventurous and visionary -- and a damned good tennis
player in his day. His leadership and professionalism
throughout his career and especially as the Chief
Engineer at the PA is well known. He will be well
remembered and sorely missed.
I wanted
to add that while in the Engineering Dept., I worked
with Gene on a number of very technically involved
engineering design and construction issues. He was one
of the smartest engineers I ever encountered both in and
out of the PA. Could instantly grasp the essence of a
problem or issue and apply both managerial and technical
expertise to solving.
I
specifically remember Gene - with Dan Hahn and many
others - coming up with such an important solution when
there was the "cracked beam" under one of the apartment
buildings on the NY side of the GWB (1989?). We lost 1/2
of the exit roadway off of the Bridge and a solution
needed to be developed as quickly as possible since
there was absolute gridlock up and down the Hudson. I
was fairly new as GWB Manager and Gene really made me
feel that I had the full support of the whole Port
Authority to get this right.
Wanamaker & Carlough Funeral Home
|
In Memory of