9/11 worker Joseph Landolfi dies at 55
Joseph Landolfi, who worked at the Fresh Kills landfill 12 hours a day, seven days a week for a year and a half after 9/11, died Sept. 6, 2011, on Long Island as he underwent surgery for thyroid cancer. He was 55. (July 16, 2011)
Newsday's obituary for Joseph Landolfi
Credit: Newsday/Karen Wiles Stabile
Joseph P. Landolfi, 55, who worked sifting through Ground Zero debris at Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island, died Sept. 6 on Long Island as he underwent surgery for thyroid cancer.
Born and raised in Brooklyn, where he graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School in Coney Island, Landolfi moved to Staten Island where he worked for the New York City Department of Sanitation at the landfill. After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Landolfi worked 12-hour shifts for 18 months helping to look for remains. In an interview in July with Newsday, Landolfi said the long hours were his way of trying to bring some comfort to families who had lost loved ones.
In 2004, he retired on disability because of knee injuries and moved to Port Charlotte, Fla. Soon, his health began to deteriorate. In October 2009, while visiting his sister Diane Zeiga, of West Islip, Landolfi sought help at the Long Island World Trade Center Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program in Islandia. There he was diagnosed with 9/11-associated illnesses, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. He was also diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. The cancer was successfully removed and treated.
But in January, when he returned to Long Island, tests showed he had a thyroid cancer that also had to be removed. Landolfi believed his cancers were related to his post-9/11 work at the landfill, although a medical expert said it was not possible to determine their cause.
Landolfi was hopeful the second surgery would give him a new lease on life, said his sister Anita Gurak of Lawrenceville, N.J. "He really didn't have the easiest of lives," she said. "He died when it seemed he might have a second chance."
In addition to Zeiga and Gurak, Landolfi is survived by his mother, Anita Landolfi of Port Charlotte; three other sisters, Rosanne Aponte and Elizabeth Schmitt, both of Staten Island, and Joanne Mitchell of Lawrenceville; two nieces and a nephew.
Services are scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday at Holy Family Roman Catholic Church on Staten Island. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to an animal rescue group of the donor's choice.
