Outpouring at Tom Cutinella's funeral for "tremendous person"

The crowd for the funeral Mass of Shoreham-Wading River High School football player Tom Cutinella was so large that the sanctuary of St. John the Baptist Roman Catholic Church filled quickly.

So several hundred people stood for hours in the church's main parking lot early Tuesday morning, waiting for the service to begin and then listening to the two-hour Mass for the 16-year-old over loudspeakers.

Inside, parents Frank and Kelli Cutinella stood before the throng and spoke as the service began, said those who were there.

"It was just the most comforting words," said Jake Blandi, 17, a senior at the high school who said he was close friends with Tom Cutinella. "To see them so strong up at the altar just convinced the whole church to be as strong as them, who lost one of the most amazing kids.

"The turnout was amazing -- to see how many people are here to love him and support him."

Matt Millheiser, the football coach, said Frank Cutinella's words about his son were "poignant and beautiful and really touching."

Tom Cutinella, the eldest of four children, was pronounced dead last Wednesday night at Huntington Hospital after a head injury he sustained several hours earlier in a collision with an opposing player at Elwood's John Glenn High School. The offensive guard and linebacker was blocking on a running play when he was hit during the afternoon game.

Tuesday morning, shuttle buses brought hundreds of heartbroken classmates, community members and admirers of the high school junior to the church on North Country Road in Wading River. The service was closed to the media; reporters, photographers and videographers stood in a small parking lot across the street.

Auxiliary Bishop Nelson Perez of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, one of Bishop William Murphy's top assistants, celebrated the funeral Mass. Political and law enforcement officials attended, with Suffolk Executive Steve Bellone and Suffolk Police Chief James Burke among the mourners. Frank Cutinella is a Suffolk County police officer.

Bellone, in a statement, said: "Tom Cutinella's death is a tragedy beyond words. His story has struck a chord not just with our community but with the entire country, in part I think because of what a special young man he was."

Steven R. Cohen, superintendent of the Shoreham-Wading River district, had designated Tuesday a superintendent's conference day, meaning students had no school. Shuttles to the church for students and staff ran from the parking lots of three district schools.

The church, Cohen said afterward, was "filled with grief. . . . The family is experiencing a tremendous amount of grief."

The funeral Mass began just after 10 a.m. with arrival of the procession, led by police.

A vehicle parked outside the church held flowers in a large display with Cutinella's jersey number, 54. Some officers wore full-dress uniforms.

"God really did reach down and grab an angel," said one mourner, Brian Sheehan, a friend of the family, who approached reporters before the service. He called the young man's character "flawless."

Sheehan said if Cutinella could send a message to his family, he would say, " 'Mom and Dad, I'm sorry you had to go through such a painful and agonizing week. But I'm OK. I'm safe. I'm in the best house you could possibly be in.'

" 'I want you to take care of my brothers and sister, because they need you now,' " Sheehan continued. " 'And although I know this is heartbreaking, I'm safe, I'm fine. My physical body might not be here, but I will never leave you.' "

Another family friend, John Higgins, said Cutinella "was a tremendous student, a tremendous person. It's such a loss for the community. You can tell from the outpouring."

After noon, the hearse departed from the church, led by a large Suffolk County police motorcycle escort. The Suffolk County Police Department Emerald Society Pipe Band played solemnly outside as mourners walked slowly from the parking lot.

One of them, Adam Piotrowski, 18, said he graduated from Shoreham-Wading River last year and was a friend of Cutinella's.

"I just hope I have a son like him some day," said Piotrowski, who attends Suffolk County Community College. "The community just lost one of the best people they have."

With Gregg Sarra