Harrison Chamber of Commerce, Inc. (Currently, Out of Business)

Eulogy for Mr. Tony Fazio 1922-2009

 With Love by Ada Angarano

Today we gather to say good-bye to a loving husband, a loving brother, a loving father, a loving grandfather and a very dear friend,  Mr. Tony Fazio.

Tony Fazio, a lifetime resident who I’ve always referred to as Mr. Harrison was a man who loved his country, his family, his friends, the Opera and his community, HARRISON.

Mr. Fazio proudly served his country for 3 years during WWII.  Tony was stationed in Europe serving under General George Patton.  Mr. Fazio returned home with a significant hearing loss due to heavy artillery noise that was exploding close to him.

Tony and Helen Fazio were married for more than 48 years; they were a 2-person team but lived life as a single unit, one always helping the other. They raised their daughter Regina, who eventually married Joe and relocated to Cape Cod. Regina Joe in time made Tony & Helen proud grandparents of two beautiful granddaughters, Nina and Carly. 

Mr. Fazio opened his own business in town, Community Jewelers on Halstead Ave. According to Mrs. Fazio, Tony used to tell her that, so many friends would stop by each day in need of personal advice that he felt more like a psychiatrist than a jeweler, and if he had charged a fee for all the advice he gave out over the years he could have been a millionaire.

But, as we can see here today, money isn’t everything.  Mr. Fazio had earned something more valuable than money; he had earned the respect of a whole community instead, like the Master Card commercial, the RESPECT he earned over all the years of devotion he gave to our town was PRICELESS…(Remember Ada, he would always say to me, you have to get Master Card into the Chamber).

 Tony Fazio and others who also grew up with him in Harrison all had high expectations for Harrison; they saw this town evolve slowly as children and then helped it grow into a well-respected community as adults. It was Tony Fazio and his good friend, Andrew Ruge who organized the very first parade in town.

Mr. Fazio’s mind never stopped, he was always thinking of ways he could help his community grow. Joining various organizations was instrumental for Mr. Fazio. Now he could exchange his ideas with other members and get their

input, he was now “networking”, he was ahead of his time. These are only a few organizations he belonged to were:

The Harrison Rotary Club,

The Harrison Council for the Arts,

The American Legion,

The Veterans of Foreign Wars

The Harrison Committee for the Partially Able,

The Westchester County Committee of Boy’s Town of Italy,

The John Cabot Club

Mr. Fazio was one of the original founders of the Harrison Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Fazio also received numerous awards in his lifetime

but these were two that he cherished:

the Harrison Citizen of the Year Award

and the Cab Callaway Award.  

Mr. Fazio had many interests, but he had a greater passion for something else, it was the Opera, he thought that if he loved the opera this much, possibly others in Harrison did too, and they did.

So, the Harrison Friends of the Opera was founded by Mr. Fazio over 35 years ago and is still going strong today thanks to others who love it as much as he did.

Mr. Fazio a.k.a. Mr. Harrison, loved his town with all of his heart, so much that he even put up a fight about moving to Cape Cod a few months ago, but with his failing health, the move was inevitable. Mr. Fazio’s few last months were spent quietly and peacefully with his entire loving family, but for some strange reason I have to think his mind was still thinking about Harrison.

So now, each time we watch a parade march down Halstead Avenue or down Lake Street, see an American Flag proudly flapping in the wind or hear an Opera song, they will remind us about Mr. Fazio and all the “love & devotion” he gave to this town to make it Beautiful, Friendly & Loving.  In his memory, all he had requested was for Harrison residents to volunteer some time to any town group or organization so that Harrison will remain the Beautiful, Friendly, Loving town that he had visions of as a child and made into reality as an adult.

Mr. Tony Fazio will be laid to rest at St Mary’s Cemetery in Greenwich Ct, but his PRIDE & SPIRIT will live on forever in his GREAT COMMUNITY OF HARRISON…

God Bless you Mr. Fazio aka Mr. Harrison