August A. Petrillo of Bedford, New York, and Southampton died on August 12 in Southampton, where he spent his last weeks surrounded by his many friends and relatives following a more than two-year battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 60.
Born March 2, 1949, in Mt. Vernon, New York, he attended Saints Peter and Paul Elementary School in Mt. Vernon, and graduated from Riverdale Country School in The Bronx. He received a bachelor of business administration degree from the University of Notre Dame, and a master of business administration degree from Iona College.
He was an owner and partner in the family business of Petrillo Stone Corporation, in Mt. Vernon, known for having constructed or repaired many recognizable stone buildings in its 100-plus years of business. Notable sites include Lincoln Center, Rockefeller Center, the United Nations, and the monument in Agawam Park in Southampton.
Both Mr. Petrillo’s maternal grandparents, the Sirignanos, and paternal grandparents, the Petrillos, spent their summers in Southampton on Little Peconic Bay beginning in 1950. As the families grew in size and the grandchildren grew in age, his family overflowed to other summer cottages in the community.
Throughout his illness he was treated with the utmost care and expertise at the Pancreas Center of Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City, the family said.
He is survived by his wife, Irene (née Gavigan) Petrillo of Bedford and Southampton; two sons, August Petrillo and Christopher Petrillo, both of New York City; and two sisters, Lillian Hauben of Southampton and Rosemary Sullivan of Brewster.
A funeral mass was held on August 15 at Our Lady of Poland Church in Southampton. Interment followed at Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations to the Pancreas Center, Herbert Irving Pavilion, 8th Floor, 161 Fort Washington Avenue, New York, NY 10032, would be appreciated by the family.
on Aug 19, 2009