His love of animals inspired Robert A. Becerra, 88, of Floral Park

Retired and newly inspired, Robert A. Becerra, transformed his Floral Park home into something akin to a Long Island bed-and-breakfast.

Unlike those catering to weekenders getting away to Fire Island or the Hamptons, Becerra served a clientele that typically arrived with four paws and a tail, possibly wagging at this stroke of good fortune.

Becerra welcomed the cats, dogs, even an assortment of hungry birds, into and around his home as part of his new purpose, discovered late-in-life: animal rescuer and protector.

"He became well-known in our neighborhood as the guy who feeds the homeless cats, the birds, and any other animal who would stop in for a bite," said his son, Robert Becerra Jr.

"He was like the St. Francis of Assisi in our community," said the son of his dad, referring to the Roman Catholic patron saint of animals.

Robert A. Becerra, 88, died Feb. 18 after succumbing to injuries sustained from a fall.

Becerra was born in 1934 in Yauco, Puerto Rico, at the height of the Great Depression. He moved to New York in 1943 with his parents, grandmother, and two sisters. The family eventually settled in Manhattan.

After he graduated from Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan, Becerra briefly attended Brooklyn College in the mid-1950s before entering the Army National Guard, where he served from 1957 to 1959 before being honorably discharged.

Becerra met his first wife, Naomi, who died in 2009, as a teenager in the late 1940s. They married in 1952 and had three children. Becerra married his second wife, Elsi, who died in 2022, in 1985. The couple had one son, Robert Becerra Jr.

In 1958, Becerra began working in the pharmacy department at Bellevue Hospital, where he would remain until his retirement in 2007.

It was later, with free time on his hands, that Becerra's love of animals blossomed with an assist from his son.

Robert Becerra Jr. started an apparel company in 2018 that promotes animal rescue efforts. His dad got involved in the company's rescue efforts and it sparked a passion that never wavered.

"He developed such a deep love for animals that wasn't there when I was a kid, so it was a wonderful thing to see him grow into," Becerra Jr. said of his dad. "He even became a vegetarian in his late 70s."

Neighbor, John DiGioia, knew Becerra for more than 30 years and recalled him as a "quiet, wonderful man, who was always very pleasant to be around."

"We tried to keep up the neighborhood together — raking leaves, picking up newspapers — you have to feel like you have a purpose, and we always had good times together," DiGioia said. "You won't be able to find anyone who could say a bad thing about him."

Family friend, Grace Navarro of Los Angeles, met Becerra more than six years ago after first meeting his son through animal rights work, and the two developed an instant bond.

"My heart breaks knowing we had a true angel on this earth for the animals and that he is no longer here. The only solace I have is knowing he's in a better place surrounded by all his family and the animals he has loved and helped along the way."

In addition to his son, Robert, Becerra is survived by sons, Ricky, 67, and Rory, 63; and a sister, Nydia Gioeli. Becerra's son Bobby from his first marriage died in 1972.