Co-Workers Remember A 'Loyal, Unwavering' Man

The Chief-Leader/Adrienne Haywood-James A SON'S GRIEF: Gennaro Montello Jr. (right) leaves church after a funeral in which Mayor Bloomberg praised his father as having 'made a difference in this city.'

The calm and tender nature of Gennaro Montello, a Department of Environmental Protection Sewage Treatment Worker who was killed in an onsite accident Jan. 9, was exemplified by his response to the incident as his co-workers rushed to help him.

"His reaction wasn't to scream out, or panic," said a tearful Louis D'Elia, Mr. Montello's best friend, at his funeral service. "Instead, he told his coworkers to tell his children that he loved them."

'Tough and Fiercely Loyal'

Fellow workers, family and friends gathered Jan. 13 at the Church of St. Ephrem in Dyker Heights to pay their last respects to Mr. Montello, where he was described by Mr. D'Elia as "a man's man, tough and unwavering to the bone," and "fiercely loyal to all the things that he loved."

Mr. Montello, who was 45, died after the steel supports from a temporary conveyor belt collapsed on top of him at the Owl's Head Waste Water Treatment Plant in Brooklyn. He was rushed to a hospital but died of his injuries shortly after. He is survived by his wife Donna, 45, and his children Gennaro Jr., 17, and Briana, 14.

GENNARO MONTELLO

"He'd get a real kick out of seeing these ceremonies, all the pomp and circumstance," said Mr. D'Elia, who spoke to a crowd of hundreds at the Brooklyn church. He described Mr. Montello as someone proud of his heritage and his childhood growing up on Carroll St., calling him a "truly self- less" father and husband who worked as much as possible to provide for his family.

Mayor Bloomberg told the gathering that Mr. Montello was "one of those quiet, hard-working people whose struggles and sacrifices are all too often gone unsung, but make this world a better place," and noted that the flags on every public building in the city would be flying at half-mast to honor his contribution to the city.

'He Did Whatever It Took'

"When you ask his co-workers what Gerry was like, these are the kinds of phrases that immediately leapt to their minds: 'He had your back,' 'He was a fiercely loyal friend,' and 'It didn't matter what had to be done; Gerry would pitch in,' " Mr. Bloomberg said in his eulogy. "At a plant like Owl's Creek, that last quality is allimportant. Gerry's official job title was Sewage Treatment Worker, but in a real sense that actually meant doing whatever it takes to keep the plant running. So on a day-to-day basis, Gerry was something of a mechanic. He was a bit of a carpenter. He could do a little masonry and a little plumbing and by all accounts he was an expert glazier… He was, in short, the proverbial jack-of-all-trades, and he never said no to a friend or refused any job, and all his hard work was truly a labor of love for his family."

Outside of the Owl's Creek plant, Mr. Montello worked second and third jobs on nights and weekends for extra money to support his family, which was able to move into a new home in Dyker Heights a few years ago because of his hard work.

'Wanted More for His Kids'

"He found meaning in being a husband and a father, and in devoting himself to providing greater opportunities than he'd had for young Gerry and for Briana…he was looking ahead, looking ahead to young Gerry's high school graduation this spring and to watching Briana's own high school career begin to take off," said Mr. Bloomberg. He spoke to Mr. Montello's two children, saying he understood their heartbreak, as his own father had died when he was 21. "You never get over it," he said. "But the tears do change to laughter and to good stories. My sister and my mother and I talk about my father… we [go] over the memories that we share and that wonderful bond that he left all of us, and I'm sure that's going to be true for you two."

Outside the church, co-workers and members of Mr. Montello's union, District Council 37 Local 1320, lined up on the street as a DEP truck rolled by in honor, wearing green ribbons with the initials "GM" to pay tribute to their friend.

"He was one of our greatest workers," said Richard Russo, the treasurer of Local 1320. "The way the guys that he worked with put it, he was just your all-around guy. My prayers are with his family."

"I actually had the pleasure of singing for their wedding when they got married nineteen years ago," said Ralph Ianoco. "That's how long I've known them. He's a great guy, he'll be missed…he was just a great guy."

The Mayor, in the last lines of his eulogy, put it even more succinctly. "He was one of those 280,000 people, including me, who work for the city," he said. "He got paid a little more than I did, but that's okay. People probably thought he was worth a lot more than I am. Nevertheless, he made a difference in this city and that's why [his] children will have a better life."