Photographs depicting the life of former State Supreme Court Justice Joseph J. Saladino were displayed at his funeral at the Massapequa Funeral Home last week. They chronicled the life of a man who grew up during the Great Depression and spent summers with his parents and four brothers in a two-room bungalow in Massapequa and went on to become a well-respected jurist; a man who gave back to his community and his neighbors as a veteran, attorney, public official and community leader.

"He taught us that we were a part of something larger than ourselves," said his daughter Virginia (Ginny) Ewen of Massapequa. ‘He instilled in his family, the importance of serving the community and the church and making a difference for people."

Mr. Saladino was the son of Italian Immigrants, Anna and Joseph Saladino. His mother was a master dressmaker and his father a suit maker.

"While in Massapequa, my father and his brothers would walk from the bungalow on North Michigan Avenue to the south end of Alhambra Road to the beach there where they would swim and go clamming," said his son, Joseph. "They would walk back carrying buckets of clams back for clam bakes, and my father held on to the fond memories of that spot his entire life. Massapequa was very important to him."

During most of the past decade, Mr.  Saladino was a Trustee at Molloy College in Rockville Centre. He also loved performing weddings, where he would add witty and colorful stories, creating memorable ceremonies.

Mr. Saladino was born in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn and grew up there and in Williamsburg. He graduated from Erasmus Hall High School in 1941 and was a star player on the football team, along with pro football great Sid Luckman. He was also a member of the track team and was nameD All-City.

A graduate of Brooklyn College, he received his law degree from St. John’s University in 1952. While at Brooklyn College, Mr. Saladino played with the College’s football team and went on to also play semi-pro ball.

A veteran of the United States Army, he served in the infantry during World War II. He also volunteered for the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War and served with the First Infantry Division. He was Acting Station Legal Officer in the States, and with the Criminal Investigation Detachment in Korea. During his time in Korea, he shared a tent with Edward Perkins, who went on to become the first African-American U.S. Ambassador to South Africa and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. It was a friendship that was to last a lifetime.

"He always remembered his humble beginnings growing up during the Depression," said his son James, a former Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney and now Deputy Town Attorney for the Town of Southampton. "His family was not wealthy and he always reminded us of that; it was important for him to be humble and he instilled that humility in his children."

For 24 years, Mr. Saladino had a private law practice in Wantagh, beginning in the 1950s. He was appointed counsel to the New York State Assembly Health Committee and became president of the Massapequa Republican Club. He served on the Oyster Bay Town Board from 1971 to 1980, where he turned his attention to expanding and preserving land and parks. During his tenure on the Town Board he also spearheaded many projects including the completion of John J. Burns Park, Bay Front Park in Nassau Shores, senior citizen housing and others.

From 1980 to 1985, Mr. Saladino served as a Nassau District Court Judge. He was elected to the State Supreme Court in 1985 and served in that post until 1994 when he retired.

While his professional achievements were extensive, Mr. Saladino is probably best known locally for the service he provided to his community through the Kiwanis Club, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, the Am Vets and other organizations as well as and through is church, St. Rose of Lima in Massapequa. He also supported many charities and was known for his sense of humor and his love of opera.

"He was an active member and later an honorary member of Kiwanis and he was always there to support what we did," said longtime friend and fellow Kiwanian John Meyer. "We also had a lot of fun together when I was involved in politics."

He was a founder of many of those organizations, or contributed to their growth through his generous offer of time and energy, said his family. He was particularly proud of being a founder of the Marine Corps Detachment of Massapequa and of the Columbia Lawyers of Nassau County. He was also instrumental in helping to build the Sons of Italy, Columbus Lodge into one of the largest lodges in New York State, said his son Joseph.

In addition to his daughter Ginny and her husband John; his sons Joseph and his fiance Audrey Aurin, and his son James and his wife Mary Hartill, Mr. Saladino is survived by his wife Jessie. His brothers, Anthony of Farmingdale and now of Boynton Beach, Florida; Frank of Smithtown and now of Central Islip; John of Point Lookout, and Jerome of Bethpage and now of Glen Head, Long Island. Four grandchildren also survive him: Jack, Maggie, Joanna and Julia Ewen.

Mr. Saladino reposed at the Massapequa Funeral Home, Park and Clark boulevards, Massapequa Park until Thursday when a funeral mass was said at St. Rose of Lima R.C. Church, Massapequa. A 21-gun Salute was conducted by the U.S. Marine Corps and interment followed in St. Charles Cemetery, Farmindale.

The family has requested that donations in Mr. Saladino’s name be made to the Massapequa Kiwanis Foundation, P.O. Box 195 Massapequa, NY 11758, or to the St. Rose of Lima Outreach, 2 Bayview Ave., Massapequa, NY 11758.