January 26, 1922 ~ November 14, 2020 (age 98)
Obituary
Ralph L. Nicoletti, Sr., 98, a life-long resident of Valhalla, passed away on November 14, 2020 after a brief illness. He was born on January 26, 1922 to Nicola and Delia (Pacensa) Nicoletti. He graduated from White Plains High School in 1941. He entered the U.S. Army during WWII, serving from 1942 to 1946 as an MP in the South Pacific. After the war, he became a paid fireman with the Valhalla Fire Department before joining the Mt. Pleasant Police Dept. in 1947, where he reached the rank of Lieutenant before retiring in 1986. He also served with the New Castle Police Dept. from 1952 to 1958.
On April 24, 1949, he married Gladys Hunt. She predeceased him in 2008.
He was a proud member of the Valhalla American Legion Post 1038. He was a member of the Valhalla Independent Fire Company for over 30 years and was a Commissioner with the Valhalla Fire District for 18 years, as well as a founding member of the Valhalla Volunteer Ambulance Corps. He was a long-time member of Police-Columbian Association and The Westchester County PBA.
After his retirement, he drove a school bus for Charles Stotz, Inc. and the Senior Citizen van for the Town of Mt. Pleasant and worked at the Hawthorne Funeral Home as a “greeter”. He served on the Town of Mt. Pleasant Recreation Commission for 18 years.
Ralph was inducted into the Westchester Senior Hall of Fame in 2015, the New York State Senate Veterans Hall of Fame in 2018, and received the WRAPS Public Service Award in 2018. He was very fortunate to participate in the Honor Flight to Washington D.C. to the WWII Memorial in 2015. He was referred to by many as the “Mayor of Valhalla” and the patriarch of the “first family of Valhalla”. He was a pitcher with the semi-pro baseball team, the Valhalla Merchants in the 1950’s. He also was the pitcher for the Mt. Pleasant Police softball team for many years.
Ralph is survived by his son Ralph Jr. (Alice) and daughter Gail (Greg Wind). His granddaughters, Denise Nicoletti (Peter Dougherty), Carrie Smith (Brian), Kelli Wind, and Krista Kolodzinski (Frank III) and his great-grandchildren, Tommy and Delia Smith, and Frank IV and Kyle Kolodzinski. Also survived by his brother, Michael, and sister, Gladys Ciocca, and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his brothers Joseph and Nicholas.
Reposing, Hawthorne Funeral Home on Thursday, 4-8 PM and Friday, 3-7 PM. Funeral Mass, Holy Name of Jesus Church, Valhalla, N.Y. on Saturday, 11 AM. Interment to follow at Kensico Cemetery, Valhalla, N.Y.
In lieu of flowers, donations to Pleasantville Ambulance Corps, P.O. 201, Pleasantville, NY 10570, or Mt. Pleasant PBA, P.O. Box 223, Hawthorne, NY 10532, or Autism Speaks, act.autismspeaks.org, would be greatly appreciated.