Joe Laudisio of Massapequa Park, electrician teacher and baseball coach, dies at 42

Joe Laudisio loved passing his knowledge to other people. Whether it was baseball, a sport he played through college, or the electrical trade — something he began to master shortly after college — one thing was certain: The Massapequa Park resident was a born coach.

So, it seemed a logical progression that he would become a teacher, something that came to fruition last fall when Laudisio, an electrician for 20 years with the Local 3 IBEW union, began to teach his trade at the Nassau BOCES Joseph M. Barry Career and Technical Education Center in Westbury.

The fit was natural. Laudisio’s infectious enthusiasm for everything and natural ability to relate to anyone made him a star with his new students, and checked off yet another box on the list of things he did well.

“Sometimes, when you are younger, you might not be as passionate about something,” said brother Anthony Laudisio, 30, of Florida. “But I know my brother loved it. Being able to work with the students and getting them to see that moment when [they say] ‘I get it now. That makes sense why we're doing this.’ That was what my brother loved to do.”

Laudisio, a father of three, died Jan. 1 at Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow after suffering a heart attack while driving three days earlier, his family said. He was 42.

“I honestly didn’t know how much he was liked,” said Jen Laudisio, his wife of 15 years. “All the students showed up at the funeral. They just had the nicest stories about him. He loved being an electrician, so he loved to pass on the knowledge to the [students]. He was trying to point them in the right direction if they wanted to do this as a long-term profession.”

The new job was hardly Laudisio’s first foray into teaching others to do something that he was good at. He spent the last nine years as a baseball coach with Massapequa International Little League, rising through the ranks as his son aged — managing both a town and a travel team.

“Situationally, within games, he was very organized and very prepared,” said Joe Mulligan, 46, of Massapequa Park, a friend who coached with Laudisio. “It showed in how the kids played. We were just a town team playing travel baseball against a lot of good organizations and we did very well. It was all because of Joe and his leadership.”

Born Dec. 11, 1980, in New Jersey, Laudisio grew up in Levittown. He went to Division High School, where he starred on the football and baseball teams. He played two years of baseball at Nassau Community College before joining the electrician’s union. He continued his love of the sport by playing on the Local 3 softball team. When his son, Jojo, turned 4 he couldn’t wait to begin coaching Little League.

“He tended to be a big kid himself,” his wife said. “So, he enjoyed anything with the youth. He loved to make kids grow and learn. … Kids of all ages loved him. He had a very big personality.”

A loving father, Laudisio was devoted to his family.

“He was very goofy,” his wife said. “He always liked to joke around. He always wanted to play games with the kids. He always wanted to be outside having a catch with my son. He would give us anything he could, no matter what.”

In addition to his wife and brother, Laudisio is survived by children Antonella, Jojo and Gia; his parents, Lou and Sue Laudisio of Florida; in-laws Anthony and Toni Giammarino of Brooklyn; and four nieces and nephews. He was buried at St. Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale, his wife said.