East Rockaway deputy mayor receives honor

Posted

East Rockaway Deputy Mayor Theresa Gaffney was one of 11 women honored as a Woman of Distinction by Assemblywoman Melissa Miller on Oct. 7 at the Oceanside Library.

“It is a very nice honor to be recognized,” Gaffney said, noting that many of her family members were in attendance as well as village officials.

Gaffney was born in Marine Park, Brooklyn, the youngest of three children, and attended public and parochial schools. After graduating college, she worked on Wall Street as a broker’s assistant for Euro Brokers, a national and international entity.

Gaffney was appointed to the East Rockaway Library Board in 2011 and eventually became board president. In 2013, she was elected a village trustee. She has taken a very active role in the community, serving as the former president of the East Rockaway Village Foundation and being involved in the Ladies Auxiliary of American Legion Post 958. She is also a 9/11 survivor, having escaped the south tower of the World Trade Center during the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Shortly after the life-altering experience, Gaffney met her husband, John, and they moved to East Rockaway, where they have raised their three children, Courtney, John and Patrick.

Also honored by Miller were Pepper Robinson (Oceanside), Diane Annarella (Island Park), Lenore Davis (Woodmere), Rev. Dr. Delores Miller (Long Beach), Elizabeth Murdy (Lido Beach), Paris Popack (Lawrence), Sandie Schoell (Oceanside), Peggy Pogue Steiner (Point Lookout), Rebbetzin Rivkie Tenenboim (Hewlett) and Christina Tisi-Kramer (Long Beach).