Anthony J. Fanelli

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Veterans' activist Anthony Fanelli, 80, of Rosebank, who sustained traumatic brain injury and partial paralysis when he was struck by a car as he crossed Hylan Boulevard at Bay Street last Veterans Day, died of his injuries Saturday in Staten Island University Hospital, Ocean Breeze.

The driver of the 2012 Acura that hit him on the night of Nov. 11 was an 83-year-old woman, said police, who have not released her name.

About an hour before the accident, police said Mr. Fanelli had been involved in a fender-bender at the same intersection. He made a left turn onto Hylan in his 2012 BMW and collided with a 1998 Honda sedan, but no one was injured, police said.

After that happened, Mr. Fanelli wanted to go to the nearby Dunkin' Donuts for coffee, and headed back to his car, said his friend, veteran John Sobchik of Willowbrook, who got there first and bought the two cups of coffee.

"I waited and I waited," said Mr. Sobchik, who called his friend's cell phone and got no response. "Then I saw flashing lights at Hylan and Bay Street, and I figured something had to have happened to him."

Mr. Fanelli was in a coma for several months after the accident, first at University Hospital and then in the ventilator unit at Richmond Center for Rehabilitation and Specialty Healthcare in Stapleton, said his son, Carlo Pecorari. He was released last Friday, "and was home for only one day" before he was brought back to University Hospital, where he died.

Mr. Fanelli was born and raised in Manhattan's Greenwich Village, graduated from Stuyvesant High School, and attended Manhattan College in the Bronx. He moved to the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn in 1964, and next to Lawrence, N.Y., where he lived for over three decades. He moved to Rosebank 15 years ago.

A U.S. Army veteran, Mr. Fanelli served two years of active duty and four years as a reservist in the 1950s, family said.

With the exception of his first job at a brokerage house on Wall Street, Mr. Fanelli operated a family-owned furniture business, which began as an interior design storefront in Bensonhurst, and grew into Tuscan Imports, based for 20 years in Hempstead, L.I. The company purchased furniture and raw materials from Italy, and finished the products at its Long Island factory. Mr. Fanelli dissolved the company when he retired 15 years ago.

"He was always calming, patient, and very organized," said his son, Carlo. "He was loving, caring, and funny, and always there for us."

"If you had a crossroads in your life, he had a way of making you feel confident of the choices you were making on your own," added his son, Anthony Fanelli. "He celebrated our successes, and picked us up from our failures."

Mr. Fanelli enjoyed reading and following the news, especially domestic politics, but "his relaxation was doing for people -- veterans' work was his life, especially raising money for disabled vets," said his son, Carlo. "This was a 79-year-old man who was not sitting on the sofa."

Mr. Fanelli was an active member and fundraiser for the United Staten Island Veterans Organization (USIVO); Huttner-Pasqualini Post, American Legion; Catholic War Veterans Post 1934, and the Halloran Memorial Chapter, Disabled Veterans. He was grand marshal of the 2012 Staten Island Memorial Day Parade.

After Mr. Fanelli was injured, James A. Haynes III, executive commander of USIVO, described him as "a great guy, a humanitarian," adding, "He'd help everybody -- he's dedicated to people."

Mr. Fanelli also was a member of the Gov. Dongan Assembly, Knights of Columbus, and an active supporter of the National Lighthouse Museum.

He was a parishioner at St. Joseph's R.C. Church in Rosebank.

In addition to his sons, Carlo and Anthony, surviving are his wife of 50 years, the former Savina DeGaetano; his brother, Michael, and three grandchildren.

The funeral will be Thursday from the Casey Funeral Home, Castleton Corners, with a mass at 9:30 a.m. in Holy Rosary R.C. Church, South Beach. Burial will follow in Ocean View Cemetery, Oakwood.