Tony Sabella Obituary

Tony Sabella attended Pleasantville High School in Pleasantville, NY. View the obituary, post a memory, or share a photo about Tony Sabella.

Graduation Year	Class of 1964
Date of Passing	Sep 06, 2006
About	SABELLA, ANTHONY CHARLES Anthony Charles Sabella of Somers, NY, formerly of Pleasantville and Bedford Village, NY, died peacefully on August 28th surrounded by his family at the Community Hospice in Washington, DC after a long battle with cancer. He was born on January 17, 1922 in Niagara Falls, NY to the late Anna Caterina and Pellegrino James Sabella. He graduated from Niagara Falls H.S. and Canisus College. He served in the US Navy during WWII. Mr. Sabella was a longtime school administrator and former superintendent of Bedford schools, a past president and rules interpreter for basketball and football officials, a former president of Section 1 athletics and a past president of NYSPHSAA; Mr. Sabella was also inducted in to the NYSPHSAA and Westchester County Sports Halls of Fame. Beloved husband of the late Julia A. (Fulgenzi); father of James and wife, Christina; Judith and husband, Thomas Flanagan; Mark and wife, Stacey; and Susan and husband, John Mitchell. He was predeceased by his brothers, Luke and Vincent and his sister, Marie Grandinetti. He is survived by his sister, Theresa Palumbo. He was the cherished grandfather to his ten (10) beloved grandchildren. He is also survived by many nieces and nephews. Written by Dave Barry, class of '65: As a student at Pleasantville (N.Y.) High School in the sixties, I was lucky enough to get to know Anthony Sabella, sometimes known to students as Tough Tony. He was the assistant principal, which meant he was the school's main disciplinarian, which meant I had plenty of interaction with him. But despite the fact that on more than one occasion I was genuinely concerned that he might -- as he threatened -- pick me up by my neck and drop me out of a third-floor window, we actually became sort of friends, or as friendly as a school disciplinarian and a total wiseass can be. In addition to being assistant principal, Mr. Sabella was a much-respected high-school-sports official. He also taught American History. I was in his class one year, and it was one of the best classes I ever took, high school or college. Mr. Sabella was very knowledgeable and had strong opinions, but it never bothered him if you disagreed. He liked the give-and-take, which was not always the case with my teachers. By the end of my senior year, I really liked running into him, and I think he liked running into me, even though these run-ins still sometimes ended with my getting detention. For example, I once led a large lunch-hour sit-in demonstration (this was the era of sit-in demonstrations) in favor of absolutely nothing. We just sat around the floor shouting random slogans of protest. When Mr. Sabella showed up, he was directed to me, as the ringleader, and I explained that we had no actual cause; we were just sitting in. He kept a straight face, but I could tell he found this amusing. He still gave me detention. Over the years I occasionally mentioned Mr. Sabella in columns, and was always delighted to hear from him, and his family. Recently, however, I heard he was not doing well. Today I learned that he died. So I'm sad about that. But it heartens me to think that if there is an afterlife, and if the afterlife has a dress code, it will henceforth be strictly enforced.