Frank V. Moccia

Laughter, Win or Lose
Frank V. Moccia Sr. was content to come away even. On a recent trip to Las Vegas with his wife, Elaine, and on countless trips to the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, it suited him just fine.

In fact, it didn't even matter much to Mr. Moccia if he lost — as he often did to his son and golf partner, Frank Moccia Jr., a police officer.

"Whether he won, lost, broke even, it didn't matter," said Officer Moccia. "Whatever he did, he had a good time."

Mr. Moccia was a big believer in doing things for only as long as they were enjoyable, which is why he spent 26 years working for Washington Group International, as a facility planner in the World Trade Center.

It's also why Mr. Moccia would not consider a retirement away from his home in Hauppauge, N.Y., which was near his daughter, Donna Marie Velazquiz, and her children.

His wife described her husband as "a big teddy bear" and Mr. Moccia was just that to his grandchildren.

The weekend before Sept. 11, for a granddaughter's seventh birthday, Mr. Moccia took the family on a trip to Six Flags Great Adventure.

Unexpectedly, Mrs. Moccia decided to accompany her husband on one of the scarier roller coasters.

"I said the Lord's Prayer from the minute the ride started," Mrs. Moccia remembered about that day. "I squeezed his hand so tight, but he was laughing for the whole ride."

Mr. Moccia would have turned 58 tomorrow.