Joseph F. Fosina

Joseph Francis Fosina, known as "Joe" to one and all, quietly passed away on July 8th at his home in New Rochelle, New York surrounded by his loving wife of 67 years, Mickie, and his family. He was 88 years old. Joe had been battling a brain illness for the past few years that had debilitated his communication skills. This loss was devastating as he was one of the greatest story tellers you could ever meet, with a larger-than-life personality and an ability to talk to anyone he would meet.

Joe was born in New Rochelle, where he was a lifelong resident and he served the community with passion and humility, especially with the youth groups. His greatest impact was through his over 50-year affiliation with the New Rochelle Youth Tackle League (YTL), as a coach and long-term President. Thousands of children came through the program with many going on to play high school and college football and a select few even to the NFL. Joe instilled an approach within YTL to teach not only football to players and routines to cheerleaders, but to provide life guidance to them about the importance of education, respect, and discipline. Joe personally assisted players with college applications and campus visits. It is remarkable, but not surprising, that many players stayed in touch and were close to Joe, decades after their YTL careers were over. The New Rochelle YTL was a second family for him. It was only fitting the City of New Rochelle in 1997 honored him by naming the youth football and soccer field, Joseph F. Fosina Field.

Joe also served the New Rochelle community as Civil Service Commissioner for 21 years after being appointed by the City Manager in 1970. He was elected to the New Rochelle City Council where he served between 1992-2003. Joe was always so approachable that people knew if they needed assistance in any way, they could call Joe for help. No questions asked, he wanted nothing more than the joy it gave him to help people with their problems and life issues.

Joe was very patriotic and proud that he enlisted and served in the US Army between 1956-1958, he was stationed in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan in the middle of the Great Lakes on a military base with 10-20 feet of annual snowfall a year. Joe was one of the few enlisted men on the base who could type so he became the company clerk and US Army Specialist. Those years shaped him in important ways, and he passed on these valuable traits of self-confidence, prioritization, values and leadership to his family and the many others he guided throughout his life.

After his Army service, Joe returned home, and he and Mickie started a family. He then became an entrepreneur, opening Glen's Sports Shop with his brother Glen on Union Avenue in West New Rochelle. The Sports Shop moved to Main Street and then to the newly built Mall in New Rochelle, when he became president of the Mall Merchants' Association. The great recession of 1973-1975 closed Glen's Sports Shop but opened another door for Joe as he joined Raleigh Athletic Reconditioning (later to be acquired by Riddell), a local New Rochelle business serving high school, college, and professional sports teams. Joe quickly became a top salesman and covered the Bronx, Westchester, and Fairfield counties.

His great ability to connect with people and sense of humor was the secret of his success. This included his relationship with his favorite account, the New York Yankees. He was commonly referred to as the Yankee tailor, taking care of their uniforms and equipment. Joe was a fixture in the Yankee locker room, starting in 1976, and was friendly with all the players past and present but none more than Mariano Rivera, whom he befriended in 1995 when Mariano was an unproven rookie and just learning his way around the area. Joe, of course, initially gave him rides to and from the Stadium, helped him find housing and forged a 30-year friendship with the Rivera family. A beautiful piece was written in the New York Post by Kevin Kiernan about their relationship. The bond between Mariano and a longtime Yanks employee (see link) https://nypost.com/2013/09/19/the-bond-between-mariano-and-a-longtime-yanks-employee/

However, nothing gave Joe more pleasure than his family. He is survived by his wife Marguerite (Hynes) Fosina, also known as Mickie; his six children-John, Kenny, Gary, Michael, AnnMarie, and Danny-as well as their spouses and fiancée: Betsy Fosina, Veronica Bykin, Linda Fosina, Stephen Rooney, and Elisa Cammarota. Joe and Mickie are proud of their 15 grandchildren (Matthew, Michael, Katharine, Kristen, Joey, Nicky, Tori, Morgan, Amy, Stephanie, Chris, Timmy, Jackie, Olivia and Julia) and their two great grandchildren (Jackson & Mason). Joe could not have been happier attending their sporting events, their graduations, and weddings.

Joe was pre-deceased by his parents, John Fosina and Anna (Carino) Fosina and his brother Glen Fosina.

Joe's honors are extensive but really worth noting to see how widespread an impact he had on the community: Accordingly, he has been inducted into The New Rochelle Sports Hall of Fame; The Inspiration Hall of Fame for The Boys and Girls Club of New Rochelle; The Iona Prep. Hall of Fame; and fittingly, The Pop Warner Hall of Fame. In addition to receiving the following notable awards:

• 1979 Monroe Sachs Memorial Award for Outstanding Service to the Youth of the City

• 1982 Distinguished Citizen- Remington Boys Club

• 1983 Maxwell Halpern Citizen Award – Boys Club of New Rochelle

• 1985 Unselfish Service Given to the Community- Huguenot Lions Club

• 1988 Coalition for New Rochelle Youth Man of the Year- Bethesda Baptist Church

• 1988 Boys Town of Italy Man of the Year

• 1990 NAACP Community Service Award

• 1994 Dedicated Work to the Youth of New Rochelle – Youth Soccer of New Rochelle

• 1998 Citizen of the Community – Calabria Mutual Aid Society

• 2000 Huguenot Citizen of the Year – New Rochelle High School

• 2000 Outstanding Service to High School Football- National Football Foundation

• 2001 Whitney Radio Award for Leadership

• 2003 Whitney Radio Award for Public Service

• 2009 Kohlberg Citizenship Award (with Mickie) New Rochelle Fund for Edu. Excellence

Joe had a complete and fulfilling life, which we will celebrate. Visitation Services will be at Lloyd Maxcy & Sons Beauchamp Chapel in New Rochelle on Sunday July 13th and Monday July 14th between the hours of 4:00pm - 8:00pm with Funeral Services to be held at Holy Family Church on Tuesday July 15th at 10:30am with a burial services at Beechwoods Cemetery, immediately following the mass.

In lieu of flowers, the family request a donation be made in Joe's name to Calvary Hospital. Memorial and Tribute Gifts - The Calvary Fund

https://fund.calvaryhospital.org/ways-to-give/memorial-and-tribute-gifts/