Nicholas Labella died at the age of 77, of a sudden, massive heart attack on Saturday, September 17, doing the thing that he loved the most, talking to a group of people at the Theodore Roosevelt gravesite at Youngs Memorial Cemetery. Nick was born in Oyster Bay on September 8, 1934.
His wife Mary said he loved TR and was a great defender of his life. Whenever someone said something that lessened him, Nick would research the issue and respond to clear up the record. He was the superintendent of Youngs Memorial Cemetery and could have retired but he loved talking about TR, she added.
President Lincoln was another of his favorite presidents, said Gail Speranza, Life Enrichment Center of Oyster Bay executive director. She said, “Nick was a huge asset to the center as well. I knew his real love was TR and the cemetery. He would often portray Lincoln. At the wake, he had a stovepipe hat with him – the hat Lincoln wore.”
Nick dressed as President Abraham Lincoln in the Theodore Roosevelt parade in Oyster Bay in 1983 to celebrate TR’s 125th birthday.
Ms. Speranza said, “He would come during Presidents Week and do a presentation at our podium and it was very interesting. He was also involved with the veterans and did a plaque for them we have on display. He also did a beautiful Christmas card for the center in his unusual style.
“Nick taught art classes here. I asked someone to do a Christmas Card for us and Nick did one. A ‘Christmas Surprise’ and the original was on display at the wake. It shows a little girl standing at the door. There is snow on the ground and she has just found a present. On the box it said, ‘For You.’ There are footprints that tell a story in the picture.”
Linda LaBella, Nick’s eldest daughter said, “My dad, Nick LaBella, etched his mark in my heart forever by imparting his tremendous creative skills and teaching me to love and respect the craft of art making. He taught me above all else, to strive for excellence and express my truth and I hope to do his legacy justice. He believed in sharing art freely because it was a spiritual gift and calling, therefore representations of his art have traveled around the globe through over 50 countries, a fact that made us all proud.”
Gail Speranza added, “Nick was the staff selection for Volunteer of the Year. Nick was a member of the Center for over 12 years and gave numerous presentations at the Center on various U.S. presidents; he was a Teddy Roosevelt history buff. He was an accomplished artist and was our volunteer art teacher for five years. He was our volunteer fitness trainer for over three years, instructing our gym members on how to safely use the equipment. Nick was conscientious and dependable and the staff was unanimous in their decision to select him for Volunteer of the Year.”
He had already been at the center for several years when they found out about his fitness prowess, said Ms. Speranza, after they saw pictures of him as a young man and learned that “He was a body builder when he was young. He became our trainer. He trained people on every piece of equipment and actually, he was going to meet someone to train, the day he died.”
She added, “We will miss him.”
Nick was always proud to say that all of his eight children went to college. Mary LaBella said all of their children attended St. Dominic Elementary School and that is why she loves it. Currently she has a granddaughter attending there. The children went to different high schools, she said. Nick was a retired teacher and Art Department Chairman of Holy Trinity High School, Hicksville.
Kathy LaBella Troiano said, “ I remember making lunches for daddy and spending time with him during high school, he was my best friend the four years at Holy Trinity High School.”
Son-in-law Joe Troiano said, “Nick was a giving man, never thought of himself, family was always first, he was a role model for me.”
The same feeling was had by his son, Nicholas LaBella Jr. who said, “My Dad was Nicholas LaBella and he represented the best possible role model that anyone could be. If you needed to choose your favorite athlete, teacher, speaker, politician and hero he always fit the bill perfectly. I did not need to look any further than my Dad when I needed someone to look up to or someone to emulate. It is always so easy to take the low road and do something the convenient way but it is so much harder to always…do the right thing. That is what my Dad always did because he always said that’s what Dads do.
“A perfect example of this was his chosen profession of teaching. Why did he choose to be an artist and teach art instead of becoming an architect and making more money? Because his art was his gift and teaching it was doing the right thing. He taught at a Catholic high school because it represented the faith that he so strongly defended even though at the time it was for less money than a public school. Because it meant doing the right thing. In these times it is so important to do the right thing when so many other unseemly choices exist.
“The world lost a great husband, father, grandfather and role model and I only pray that those that were touched by his teaching can use just a tiny bit of it to…do the right thing,” said Nick’s son.
Nicholas LaBella was the beloved husband of Mary. Dear brother of Dominic, Frank and the late Joe. Cherished father of Linda LaBella, Diamonde Alberda (John), Katherine Troiano (Joe), Patricia LaBella, Nicholas, Jr. (Lauren), Theresa Huebner (Todd) and Marcelino LaBella. Proud grandfather of Jodi Alberda, Matt Troiano, John Alberda, Nick Vito Troiano, Niko Samaniego, Nick LaBella, III, Gabrielle Samaniego, Kelsey LaBella, Marcelino LaBella, Jr., Gianna LaBella and Taylor Huebner.
He is also survived by many loving relatives and friends. Retired teacher/Art Department Chairman of Holy Trinity High School, Hicksville, and Superintendent of the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations to St. Dominic Elementary School, 35 School Street, Oyster Bay, NY 11771, would be appreciated. Visiting was at the Oyster Bay Funeral Home, on Tuesday Sept. 20 with a Funeral Mass at St. Dominic RC Chapel Wednesday. Interment at Long Island National Cemetery.
