Mourners at Melville funeral bid farewell to Thomas Valva, 8

Thomas Valva, the 8-year-old Center Moriches boy who authorities say died after being forced by his father and the man's fiancee to sleep in a freezing garage, was remembered Thursday at a funeral Mass as a "gift" to the world whose brief life should inspire others to protect children from abuse. 

"Thomas, little boy, thank you for the gift of you. Thank you for the gift of life," said Andrzej Zglejszewski, the auxiliary bishop for the Diocese of Rockville Centre, during his homily at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Roman Catholic Church in Melville.

"I am sorry that it was way too short for you," continued Zglejszewski, who baptized Thomas when the boy was an infant. "But I thank you for your beautiful smile, for the blessing you gave to this world and thank you for the challenge that you have made for all of us. ... Perhaps because of you, other children will not share your fate and we will have the courage to admit our faults and change."

Thomas died Jan. 17 from hypothermia after his father, NYPD transit officer Michael Valva, 40, and fiancee, Angela Pollina, 42,  forced the boy to sleep in an unheated garage when outside temperatures fell to 19 degrees, authorities said.

Zglejszewski, who said he counseled Thomas' mother as she fought Michael Valva for custody of the boy and his two brothers, called for change and denounced the forces that in his view put Thomas in mortal danger.

"Our system failed him," Zglejszewski said of Thomas. "Our legal and social system failed him. I’m sorry to say it, somehow, we failed him. Do you know why? Because we create the system, we choose our elected officials."

More than 150 people attended the funeral Mass — longtime friends of Thomas’ family and complete strangers moved by the boy's death, which has prompted investigations and generated widespread community outrage.

Thomas’ grief-stricken mother, Justyna Zubko-Valva, gently kissed her son’s small, white and gold-trimmed coffin inside the church, her two other sons, Anthony, 10, and Andrew, 6, at her side. Anthony, who the bishop said was close to his younger brother, read a Bible passage during the service. Zubko-Valva, 36, of Valley Stream, read a passage from the Book of Revelations.

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,” she read.

Thomas, or "Tommy," as his mother called him, was a "very energetic child" who reveled in playtime.

"Like every child, full of life," Zglejszewski said, "running, making noise, even during the Mass, even in the church."

Thomas "just wanted to be loved, wanted to be hugged, wanted to be cherished," the bishop said, adding: "He wanted to be wanted.” 

Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone attended the funeral Mass but did not make public comments. Earlier this week Bellone said Suffolk's Department of Social Services, which had been involved with the Valva/Pollina family since at least 2018, would investigate how the agency handled Thomas’ case.

Sharon Scarborough, a Center Moriches resident and neighbor of Michael Valva, who attended the funeral, applauded the bishop's comments.

"I just think that he said what was needed to be said and he didn’t hold back on it,” said Scarborough, 70. “And it’s about time."

Zubko-Valva has told Newsday she complained to authorities years earlier that Michael Valva and Pollina were abusing Thomas and his two brothers. Zubko-Valva and her estranged husband were engaged in a contentious divorce proceeding, which is still not settled, and both made abuse allegations against the other. 

Michael Valva and Pollina have been indicted on unspecified charges in the boy's death, according to prosecutors, and are set to be arraigned on the indictment next week. They both pleaded not guilty after their Jan. 24 arrests on second-degree murder charges. 

Among the strangers mourning Thomas was Ron Azzaro, 66, a retiree from Lindenhurst.

“I don’t know the family at all," Azzaro said outside the church before the Mass. "I’m here to pray for him.”

A parishioner at the church who would only give her first name, Maria, said through tears: “It’s a sad situation. Everyone feels for that child ... very deeply. It goes right through you.”

Zubko-Valva held her youngest son Andrew in her arms as pallbearers loaded Thomas’ coffin in the back of the hearse. Andrew briefly waved. 

Zglejszewski said he remained hopeful that out of such loss will come the type of change that will protect children.

"I hope the message of this tragedy will teach so many hearts and so many minds, just simply because we have to do something about this," the bishop said. "How long and how many lives it will take for us to learn?"

By Nicole Fuller

nicole.fuller@newsday.com,michael.okeeffe@newsday.com@NicoleFuller,

Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.