Army veteran, longtime Plainview resident Salvatore Mascolo Jr. dies at 69

As relatives trickled in from across the country to remember Salvatore Mascolo Jr., most mentioned his smile.

“People would go to him and want to shake his hand, because his smile was always there,” said his wife, Mary Lou, a former Newsday employee. “He was like a movie star.”

Mascolo died Friday of heart disease at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, two days after his 69th birthday. He had endured a litany of health problems — including four kidney transplants — stemming from an untreated bout of strep throat during his time in Army basic training, his wife said.

But the Plainview resident, known to most as "Sal," remained proud of his military service and never expressed regret, his family said.

Born in Bushwick, Brooklyn, on Nov. 21, 1949, Mascolo was younger than both of his brothers by more than a decade. They grew up in a neighborhood where “if it was time for dinner, your mother whistled out the window,” said his brother Tony Mascolo, 79.

The three brothers remained close despite the age difference and living far apart for a time.

“Even if it was a phone call away, it was always there,” said Tony Mascolo, of Islip Terrace, referring to the brothers' close relationship.

Mascolo was discharged from the Army in 1971 after spending two years in Germany. He found work at Gartrell Motors, a truck repair and sales company in Floral Park. He met his wife there, and the two married in 1977. They moved to Plainview the next year.

An avid Mets fan, Mascolo played softball with his two daughters in the backyard, taught them to fill out score cards and often came to their softball games straight from dialysis appointments. He was quick with a joke or a prank.

“His family kept him going,” Mary Lou Mascolo said.

He danced with his daughter Annemarie DeFelice, 33, of Huntington, at her wedding last year to one of his favorite songs, "Hero," by Mariah Carey, his wife said.

“There was not a dry eye in the place,” she said.

Mascolo remained active at St. Pius X Roman Catholic Church in Plainview throughout his life and was a dedicated member of the local Knights of Columbus.

“He was always helping out in any way he could,” his wife said.

Besides his wife, daughter Annemarie, and brother Tony, Mascolo is survived by another daughter, Michelle Mascolo, 35, of Plainview, and brother Vincent Mascolo, 83, of Stony Brook. 

A wake for Mascolo was held Tuesday and Wednesday at Chapey & Sons Funeral Home in Bethpage. Burial was Thursday at Long Island National Cemetery in Pinelawn following a funeral Mass at St. Pius X Roman Catholic Church.