Jeffrey Galluzzo, teacher, administrator, dies at 46
Jeffrey Galluzzo, who left a college job as a disc jockey at clubs and bars for a career as a teacher and administrator in Long Island schools, died Sept. 22 at an East Northport hospice. He was 46. Credit: handout
Jeffrey Galluzzo, who left a college job as a disc jockey at clubs and bars for a career as a teacher and administrator in Long Island schools, died Sept. 22 at an East Northport hospice. He was 46.
The cause was lung cancer, said a sister-in-law, Jennifer Galluzzo of Ridge.
Jeffrey Galluzzo of Commack taught fifth grade for 10 years in Island Trees public schools before taking a position as assistant principal at Stanley D. Saltzman East Memorial School in Farmingdale, she said.
Before teaching, he played house music at Long Island clubs and bars, including Patty McGee's in Island Park and Zacharys Nightclub in East Meadow.
"He enjoyed it immensely, but he'd always wanted to be a teacher and the kids loved him -- related to him," Jennifer Galluzzo said. "It came intuitively to him."
He was raised in Deer Park and attended Deer Park High School and Hofstra University, where he played on the soccer team. He later coached youth teams.
He was training for his first triathlon in 2010 when he was diagnosed with lung cancer. It was an unexpected illness for a man who'd never smoked "and just devastating for him not to be able to move and play with his teams," his sister-in-law said.
When, after 45 radiation treatments, 15 rounds of chemo and four surgeries, Galluzzo's doctor told him there was nothing more he could do, he filled his last weeks with a busy visiting schedule, she said. "Former students, friends from Hofstra, his roommates, his family . . . It was exhausting, but the doctor knew what kind of man he was. He wanted to say goodbye."
Survivors include his wife Jodi, formerly Jodi Cavaioli; daughter Jaden, 13, and son Justin, 11; parents Fran and Carmine Galluzzo of Deer Park; and brothers, Christopher of Dix Hills and Andrew of Ridge. A wake was held at Brueggemann Funeral Home in East Northport and a funeral Mass at Christ the King Church in Commack, followed by cremation.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story gave the wrong gender for one of Jeffrey Galluzzo's children.
