Antony Montilli, 70

Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department chief also owned plumbing business

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Anthony Montilli, a longtime resident of Cedarhurst and chief of the Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department, died on Dec. 30. He was 70.

Born in Far Rockaway at St. Joseph’s Hospital and raised in Inwood, Montilli graduated from Lawrence High School in 1962. After high school, he went to work at the Far Rockaway-based Buddy Schultz Plumbing Company. He married Maureen McClout on Oct. 10, 1965, and then settled in Cedarhurst. They had three sons and a daughter. In 1971, he began his own company, Montilli Plumbing and Heating, located in Woodmere.

Montilli served in for the Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department as both fire commissioner from 1982-1986 and chief from January of 1980 to December of 1981. He was an active member of the department at the time of his death, as well as the chairman of the Town of Hempstead Plumbing Examining Board. His son, Joseph, a resident of Atlantic Beach, joined him in both pursuits.

“When someone duplicates what you’ve done in life, that says a lot about you as a person,” Joseph said. “I have followed in my father’s footsteps. It is my father’s work ethic that I will remember about him most of all. I think that I have duplicated that in my own life and work.”

Joseph said that he was the unofficial candidate elected to replace his father on the plumbing board. “I enjoyed serving on the board with him,” he said. “We worked together with the board to give the exam to prospective plumbers, judging them accordingly to see if they qualified.” The board was created as part of the town’s building department.

In addition to Joseph, Montilli is survived by his wife; his daughter Donna (Tino) Arora of Cedarhurst; his other sons, Anthony “T.J.” and Christopher, both of Hewlett; his grandchildren, Anthony, Joseph Jr., Tejas and Niam; his brothers, Pasquale, Robert and Vincent; and his sisters, Camille and Anita.

Viewing was at Meserole Five Towns Funeral Home in Inwood, with a special viewing for all members of Nassau and Suffolk fire departments on Jan. 2. Funeral services were at St. Joseph R.C. Church on Broadway in Hewlett and burial was at the Cemetery of the Holy Rood in Westbury, a day later.

“I’m so glad to be able to give tribute to my father,” Joseph said.