Long Islanders we've lost in 2020
Long Island lost many beloved individuals in 2020, including community activists, public officials, first responders and educators.
Paul H. Johnson, lifelong Huntington resident, civil rights activist and pillar of the community, died Feb. 12. He was 90. Read Newsday's story.
Ali Dennis Guillermo, a nurse at Long Island Community Hospital who came to Long Island from the Philippines in 2004 to provide a better upbringing for his family, died April 7. He was 44. Read Newsday's story.
David Gates, president of the Hempstead board of education and senior pastor at Miracle Christian Center in Hempstead, died March 25. He was 56. Read Newsday's story.
Harriett Crippen Brown Gumbs, a trailblazing historian, educator and activist of the Shinnecock Indian Nation who forged a place for women in tribal government and business, died Nov. 25. She was 99. Read Newsday's story.
Suffolk County Legis. Tom Muratore, a former county police officer described as being deeply devoted to his constituents, died Sept. 8. He was 75. Read Newsday's story.
John Venditto, who served 10 two-year terms as Oyster Bay supervisor, died March 17. He was 70. Read Newsday's story.
Mitsue Salador, internment camp survivor and longtime educator, died April 22. She was 96. Read Newsday's story.
Alvin Cohen, founder and original owner of Adventureland, died June 27. He was 94. Read Newsday's story.
Jerry Wolkoff, a prominent real estate developer behind major projects including the proposed Heartland Town Square in Brentwood, died July 17. He was 83. Read Newsday's story.
B. Smith, a restaurateur, author and model who was one of the first African American women featured on the cover of Mademoiselle magazine, died Feb. 22. She was 70. Read Newsday's story.
Leonard Rivkin, a decorated World War II Army hero and the founder of Long Island's largest and most influential law firm Rivkin Radler, died July 10. He was 95. Read Newsday's story.
Christopher Madden, vice president of the Copiague Board of Education, died April 3. He was 49. Read Newsday's story.
Nina Balducci, shown in red with her family, a key figure in her family's Italian specialty market, Balducci's, died April 12. She was 91. Read Newsday's story.
Jim Dwyer, a reporter and columnist who won a Pulitzer Prize for commentary and shared another for spot news while at New York Newsday before a long career at The New York Times, died Oct. 8. He was 63. Read Newsday's story.
Tony Carter, right, an assistant football coach at Wantagh High School whose influence extended well beyond the field, died April 14. He was 57. Read Newsday's story.
John Mair, known by many as the imposing "Crusher Doogan" who entertained Long Island pro wrestling fans and helped teach several would-be WWE stars, died Jan. 23. He was 49. Read Newsday's story.
Lillian Barbash, center, Long Island's "First Lady of the Arts" who transformed the Islip Arts Council into a musical powerhouse and helped create the now-defunct Long Island Philharmonic, died July 4. She was 92. Read Newsday's story.
Mark Jay Epstein, a prominent Melville attorney who was active in politics, the Long Island Rail Road and several community organizations, died June 11. He was 55. Read Newsday's story.
Alan A. Finder, who worked for Newsday and spent the bulk of his diverse career as a reporter and editor for The New York Times, died March 24. He was 72. Read Newsday's story.
Renee Seman, who ran six of the world's most prestigious marathons despite her breast cancer diagnosis, died Jan. 29. She was 42. Read Newsday's story.
Chris Pendergast, founder of the nonprofit charity Ride for Life Inc. and an advocate for a cure for the Lou Gehrig's disease he battled for nearly three decades, died Oct. 14. He was 71. Read Newsday's story.
Carson D. Mascoll, a Hempstead attorney who fought segregation, died April 22. He was 101. Read Newsday's story.
Dave Targe, a longtime Newsday advertising executive that helped turn Newsday into one of the largest newspapers in the nation, died Feb. 11. He was 95. Read Newsday's story.
Thomas Valva, a third-grader at East Moriches Elementary School who loved music, drawing and zipping around on his scooter, died Jan. 17. He was 8. Read Newsday's story.
Elaine Jackson Stack, who went by Jackie, a former prosecutor, defense lawyer, village deputy mayor and judge, died Dec. 19. She was 89. Read Newsday's story.
Anthony Causi, a New York Post sports photographer who spent 25 years at the forefront of the local sports scene, died April 12. He was 48. Read Newsday's story.
Bishop Ralph Jefferson, founder of Jefferson Temple, Church of God in Christ, in Bellport, died Nov. 4. He was 87. Read Newsday's story.
Gina Marie Dellosso, an elementary school teacher and musician, died March 22 after a 2½ year battle with breast cancer. She was 35. Read Newsday's story.
Robert Fresco, a longtime reporter who worked on many Newsday investigations including the Pulitzer Prize-winning story about Baby Jane Doe, died April 19. He was 78. Read Newsday's story.
Sands Point Police Sgt. Joseph Spinosa died April 15, becoming the first known Long Island police officer to succumb to the coronavirus. He was 52. Read Newsday's story.
Donald E. Belfi, former Nassau County Court Judge who presided over the 1995 Long Island Rail Road massacre trial, died Feb. 26. He was 84. Read Newsday's story.
Rosalia Zona, the Town of Huntington's oldest resident who was born two months after the Titanic sank, died Aug. 5. She was 108. Read Newsday's story.
Michael V. Talbert, pastor of First Church of Wyandanch Ministries for 28 years and a pillar of the Wyandanch community, died March 23. He was 63. Read Newsday's story.
Gregory W. Carman, a federal judge, congressman and Oyster Bay councilman, died April 5. He was 83. Read Newsday's story.
Former Long Island State Sen. John Dunne, who served 23 years before his appointment to help lead the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Justice Department, died Nov. 1. He was 90. Read Newsday's story.
Lorraine Aycock, a philanthropist and banker whose work and community involvement had a broad reach across Long Island, died Sept. 22. She was 53. Read Newsday's story.
Suffolk Police Sgt. David J. Cherkes, who worked as a Suffolk Marine Bureau officer until illness forced him to retire, died Oct. 23. He was 52. Read Newsday's story.
Peter McGowan, who served 14 years as Islip Town supervisor, died Oct. 13. He was 83. Read Newsday's story.
Paulette Sanders-Battle, founding member of Living Hope Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church in Massapequa, died May 22. She was 66. Read Newsday's story.
Len Levitt, a longtime Newsday columnist and investigative reporter, died May 18. He was 79. Read Newsday's story.
Frank Castagna, 91, developer involved in some of Long Island's biggest construction projects including Americana Manhasset, died July 7. He was 91. Read Newsday's story.
Dylan Schuster, a gregarious ninth-grader at Oceanside High School, died Jan. 12. He was 14. Read Newsday's story.
Herbie Wheeler, a pioneering journalist and Newsday icon, died March 30. She was 96. Read Newsday's story.
Federal District Judge Arthur Spatt died June 12. He was 94. Read Newsday's story.
Darran Simon, a former Newsday reporter who tackled tough subjects with humanity and grace, died in April. He was 43. Read Newsday's story.
Lynn Evans Mand, a lead vocalist for popular female vocal group the Chordettes who later incorporated music into Brentwood School District special education classrooms, died Feb. 6. She was 95. Read Newsday's story.
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