Joseph Carrigan, former East Rockaway mayor, dies at 87
Joseph Carrigan. Credit: East Rockaway Fire Department
Joseph Carrigan was a giant in the East Rockaway community, having served as the village's trustee, mayor, fire chief and postmaster.
A lifelong resident of the village and a decorated Navy veteran, Carrigan became one of East Rockaway's most visible and successful advocates.
As mayor, he conducted the first renovation of Memorial Park since World War II and helped rehabilitate the area's downtown business district. He was a co-founder of the East Rockaway Raiders Athletic Association, a youth football league now celebrating its 50th anniversary. And as chief of the East Rockaway Fire Department, he recorded the village's lowest fire loss in the department's history.
"My father was not a politician but he believed in public service," said his youngest son, James Carrigan of Oceanside. "And everything that he did was in service to the community so that it would succeed for future generations."
Joseph Carrigan died Feb. 24 at Mount Sinai South Nassau Hospital of cardiac arrest. He was 87.
East Rockaway Mayor Bruno Romano called Carrigan a "loyal and committed individual" who will "be sorely missed by our community for his wisdom, volunteerism and dedication.”
Carrigan was born July 5, 1932, to Paul and Veronica Carrigan, both of whom served as the village's postmaster and worked at Republic Airport during World War II building the P-47 Thunderbolt fighter aircraft.
After graduating from East Rockaway High School, where he played baseball and football, Carrigan became a substitute letter carrier. In 1951, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and was deployed on the Coral Sea aircraft carrier for four years during the Korean War.
When he returned home, he rejoined the post office, becoming a regular letter carrier. Following in the family tradition, he was appointed acting postmaster in 1962 by then-President John F. Kennedy, and two years later the U.S. Senate confirmed his appointment. He would serve until his retirement from the Postal Service in 1987.
Through it all was Herma Carrigan, his wife of 65 years, who died last September. The pair met when he was 7 years old and she was just 5, at the now-defunct Leroy's dance studio, and the couple danced together at the 1939 World's Fair and at live shows at the former Criterion Theatre in East Rockaway.
The couple began dating in 1946 and married in 1954. They had three children: Joanne Carrigan, 63, of East Rockaway, a Nassau County 911 operator; Joseph Carrigan, 58, of Wantagh, a retired Port Authority Police officer and Sept. 11 first responder; and James Carrigan, 56, a former chief of the fire department.
"Together my mom and dad were a force to be reckoned with," said Joanne Carrigan. "They had such a strong bond and were the glue that held all of us together."
Joseph Carrigan joined the East Rockaway Fire Department in 1960 and quickly moved through the ranks, serving as captain, chief and commissioner.
Former Chief Christopher Shelton said Carrigan responded to many of the village's largest fires, including one where he and other members had to leap from the roof of a property in White Cannon Park — which now bears the former mayor's name — and suffered burns to his hands and face. Carrigan and another member also saved the life of a person trapped on the second floor of a home on Murdock Road and East Rockaway Boulevard under heavy fire conditions.
"He had an infectious laugh and a smile for everyone," Shelton said during a eulogy at Carrigan's March 1 funeral. "He loved his Cadillacs and he was always neat as a pin, even at rescue calls and fires late at night."
After his retirement, Carrigan put his energy into village government, serving two terms as trustee and one as mayor from 2003 to 2007.
During his time on the village board, Carrigan implemented "Operation Downtown," which rehabilitated the local business district, overhauled a public parking lot on Atlantic Avenue, and renovated McNulty and White Cannon parks.
Joanne Carrigan said her father was widely respected for his honesty and fairness.
"He was a man's man," she said. "His word was his bond. And everything that he did was from the heart."
Carrigan is survived by his three children, two daughters-in-law and five grandchildren.
Donations in Carrigan's memory can be made to the East Rockaway Fire Department.
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
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