Sebastian R. Belardi, aircraft mechanic, dead at 59

With three young children and off the heels of a failed marriage, the young mother had no reservations about marrying again, this time to Bobby Belardi.

It was March 1980, and Roseann Belardi was sure Bobby was her soul mate. "No second thoughts, ever," she said, "because from Day 1 he treated my kids like they were his own. He was great to them."

Thirty years later, one of those children, Damien Sabatello, 36, of Nashville, Tenn., said Sebastian R. Belardi, known as Bobby, "taught me everything. He was a father and a friend."

Belardi, a Smithtown resident for 30 years, died Sunday of lung cancer at his home, family said. He was 59.

While Belardi's wife never thought twice, close friend Paul Dorazio wasn't so sure. "I was married and I wasn't ready for kids," said Dorazio of Surf City, N.C. "But here was Bobby, getting married with three kids in the deal. I thought it was unique, but that was Bobby. He was unique, too."

Belardi was raised in Bellmore, graduated from W.C. Mepham High School and then went straight to the Air Force.

Belardi became an airplane mechanic after being discharged in 1974 and worked in the airline industry for 30 years, including the last 15 for Swiss International at Kennedy Airport. He also was a youth baseball coach, Scoutmaster and storyteller.

Belardi often combined his passion for cars with street-wise shenanigans, Dorazio said. Once, in 1966, while working at a gas station, he brought in his father's 1963 Chevy Impala for an oil change. But Belardi had ulterior motives. He lifted the engine and transmission from his father's car and put it into his own 1955 Chevy, Dorazio said.

"He wanted to race his car, but it didn't have a motor. I said, 'Bobby, you can't do that.' But he told me he'd put it back the next day."

Dorazio said Belardi had such a good time racing he didn't return the motor and transmission to his father's car for two weeks. "When his dad found out he went ballistic," Dorazio said.

In addition to his wife and stepson, survivors also include stepchildren Joe Sabatello of Chicago; and Paula Sabatello of Smithtown; son Sebastian Belardi of Smithtown; sisters Carmella Arnoldt of Phoenix; Sara Henry and Linda Kenyon, of Spring, Texas; and Marianne Belardi of Phoenix; and brothers Mike Belardi of Babylon and Joseph Belardi of Bellmore.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated 9:45 a.m. Wednesday at St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church in Smithtown. Burial is at Calverton National Cemetery, Calverton.