{"id":95884,"date":"2026-01-10T17:14:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T17:14:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/95884\/"},"modified":"2026-01-10T17:14:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T17:14:17","slug":"staten-island-obituaries-neighbors-we-lost-at-the-start-of-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/95884\/","title":{"rendered":"Staten Island obituaries: Neighbors we lost at the start of 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 In honor of those who have died, here is a compilation of obituaries posted on SILive<\/a>. Viewing times and guest books can be seen here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"BruceBruce CohnFamily Photo<\/p>\n

Bruce J. Cohn, 78, of Atlantic Highlands, N.J., died on Sunday, Jan. 4 at Jersey Shore University Hospital. <\/p>\n

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Bruce lived on Staten Island for many years before settling in Atlantic Highlands in 2017. He was an elementary school teacher who taught Photography and Drama at Totten I.S. 34 on Staten Island and moonlighted as a wedding videographer. <\/p>\n

Bruce graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in Brooklyn in 1963, received a BFA from Pratt College in 1967, and an MS in Education from Richmond College, CUNY, in 1974. <\/p>\n

An avid photographer, sailor, golfer, and long-distance bicyclist, he is survived by his wife, Denise Mumm, his daughter and son-in-law, Jaime and Frank Manzo, his brother and sister-in-law, Robert and Bibi Cohn, and two grandchildren. Read the full obituary on SILive<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Gale Bellafiore was born on March 30, 1940 and raised in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. <\/p>\n

A summa cum laude graduate of Fort Hamilton High School, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Wagner College and a Master of Arts degree in Religious Studies from Saint Joseph\u2019s Seminary and College, Dunwoodie. <\/p>\n

Gale was employed by the New York City Board of Education as a mathematics teacher from 1961 to 1996 at Dreyfus JHS 49 and Egbert IS 2. <\/p>\n

She was a member of the Richmond Choral Society and sang at Carnegie Hall, Madison Square Garden, and in France with Conductor Robert Shaw. During 9-11, she cooked many trays of potatoes and eggs daily for First Responders at the Homeport. <\/p>\n

She met her future husband, Vincent, at JHS 49, where they were new teachers, and they took up residence in Dongan Hills where they raised their daughters. <\/p>\n

She is survived by her husband of 60 years, Vincent Bellafiore, EdD, daughter Eva Schwartz, sons-in-law Hal Schwartz and Paul McDonald, and grandchildren. she was predeceased by her daughter, Christa McDonald. Read the full obituary on SILive<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Patricia \u201cPatty\u201d Downing (n\u00e9e Styles), 66, a lifelong Staten Islander, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by her family. <\/p>\n

Born in 1959 to Charles and Rita (Conte) Styles, Patty was a triplet and graduated from St. Peter\u2019s High School for Girls before attending Katherine Gibbs. She worked for 13 years at Josephthal Inc., where she earned her brokerage license, and later pursued nursing, graduating from St. Vincent\u2019s Medical Center School of Nursing in 1996. <\/p>\n

Patty served more than 25 years as a school nurse with the NYC Department of Health at P.S. 45, Holy Rosary, and Our Lady of Good Counsel, retiring in 2024. <\/p>\n

She also worked part-time for over 14 years at the NYC Fire Department Medical Office, World Trade Center Unit. <\/p>\n

Patty was married to Thomas Downing for 45 years and was the proud mother of three sons and grandmother to Terrence \u201cTT\u201d Downing. Read the full obituary on SILive<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Annette C. Silvestro, 69, of Aberdeen, died on Tuesday, Jan. 6. <\/p>\n

Annette was born and raised in Port Richmond, Staten Island. She was a graduate of Port Richmond High School and Kean University with a bachelor\u2019s degree. <\/p>\n

After college, Annette began working for Majors Travel Agency and purchased the business shortly after, serving as owner and operator for over 40 years. <\/p>\n

Annette enjoyed tennis, pickleball, the beach, and relaxing by the pool. She loved to travel and most of all enjoyed spending time with close friends and family. <\/p>\n

She is survived by her sisters, Patricia LoBuono and Maria and her husband Frank Ippoliti, her nieces and nephews, her beloved cousin, Carmitta Manze, and her two dear friends Linda Garofolo and Leonor Villanueva. Read the full obituary on SILive<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Evelyn Mazzitelli, 98, passed away on Jan. 5, 2026. Born on Staten Island in 1927, Evelyn was the fourth daughter and fifth child of Anthony and Rose (Caporale) Fressola.<\/p>\n

She cherished memories of growing up on Scribner Avenue. Evelyn graduated from Curtis High School in 1944 and went on to achieve a Bachelor\u2019s degree and Master of Arts in Education from Hunter College. <\/p>\n

She was employed by the New York City Department of Education as a teacher in P.S. 34 and as a teacher and administrator in P.S. 13, both on Staten Island, until her retirement in 1986. In 1984, she received a Teacher of the Year award in recognition of her outstanding work. She wed Louis in 1952, and they had two daughters. <\/p>\n

Following her retirement, Evelyn was involved in various volunteer activities, including membership in the Women\u2019s Auxiliary at St. Vincent\u2019s Hospital and the Staten Island Historical Society at Richmondtown. <\/p>\n

Evelyn is survived by her brother, Michael Fressola, her devoted daughter Eva Lynn Hayko, son-in-law John, grandchildren Emily Rose Forman and Benjamin Louis, and her cherished great-grandson, Henry Christopher. Read the full obituary on SILive<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Elaine Eugenio passed away peacefully on Wednesday, Jan. 7 after a long illness. <\/p>\n

She was for decades a warm and welcoming figure as the former owner of The Card Shop stationery and toy store in Staten Island\u2019s West Brighton community. <\/p>\n

Born Elaine Marsha Lifschitz on July 18, 1942, she was raised on Manhattan\u2019s Lower East Side, graduating from Seward Park High School. <\/p>\n

She married Staten Island native Rocco Eugenio and worked as a bank teller while raising her daughter Rhonda and son Matthew. <\/p>\n

Elaine is survived by her loving partner of over 20 years, Howard Fisk, her sisters Irene Goldstoff of Morristown, N.J., and Helen Penzel of Port St. Lucie, Florida, and their children. <\/p>\n

Beloved for her fierce love for her children, fathomless generosity, and selflessness, Elaine will be deeply missed by family and former patrons alike for her affectionate directness, arch sense of humor, and legendary stuffed shells. Read the full obituary on SILive<\/a>.<\/p>\n

John Delmont Leffler, 77, died July 21 on Staten Island of complications following a stroke. <\/p>\n

A Staten Island resident since the late 70s, John was born in Wichita, Kansas, in 1948 to Ira and Elizabeth Leffler. <\/p>\n

He earned his bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, where he became interested in modern dance. In 1977, John moved to New York City and worked for engineering firm Goldman Copeland, where he was involved in the renovation of Grand Central Terminal. <\/p>\n

In 2003, John was named International Energy Engineer of the Year by the Association of Energy Engineers and is listed as a co-inventor on two patents related to heating systems. <\/p>\n

In 2018, John joined Geri Goldman Engineering, where he worked on the renovations of Penn Station and the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House. <\/p>\n

He is survived by his sister, Sue Ellen Rael of Corrales, New Mexico, and by many friends. Read the full obituary on SILive<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. \u2014 In honor of those who have died, here is a compilation of obituaries posted…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":95885,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[9,24,63,134,136,135],"class_list":{"0":"post-95884","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-staten-island","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-staten-island","12":"tag-staten-island-headlines","13":"tag-staten-island-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95884\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/95885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}