Hewlett High grad Michael Perrotta dies of Covid-19

Bill Crandall and Michael Perrotta met as children at the playground and knew each other for at least 60 years, Crandall said, so after Perrotta, 70, died on April 23 from Covid-19, Crandall took to the Five Towns Area History group page to remember his lifelong friend.  

Crandall wrote that Perrotta, Hewlett High School class of 1967, was a star running back for the Bulldogs varsity football team, and that Perrotta managed Woodmere’s public tennis courts during the summers when he attended college.

“Maybe you had a beer with him at the Hewlett Inn,” Crandall posted. “In any case, we’ve lost one of our great ones. What a guy! R.I.P. Michael.❤️” The Hewlett Inn was on Broadway, “one block from the Hewlett Long Island Rail Road station and the Hewlett firehouse,” Crandall told the Herald. “Michael and I first met because we lived on the same neighborhood block in the Gibson section of Valley Stream,” said Crandall, now an East Rockaway resident.

Perrotta, who lived in Northport, became a distinguished attorney with a successful legal practice in Huntington that focused on real estate and personal injury litigation for more than 40 years. He earned his law degree with honors from St. John’s University School of Law in 1976, where he was a member of the Law Review. Perrotta received multiple awards and ratings of excellence as a top-rated lawyer in litigation, ethical standards and legal ability.

After Crandall posted on the Five Towns Area History group page at least 80 people responded with either condolences or their memories of Perrotta.

“I will admit to a few beers at the Hewlett Inn with Michael, as well as spending many hours together as teammates on the field, RIP Mike,” Bob Whitney wrote.

“He was in my English class. He was always laughing and fun-loving as captured in this photo. RIP, Michael,” Elaine Lois Leventhal Atlas stated, referring to the one with the fish.

“A high school heart throb, beautiful inside and out. So sorry,” Paula Goodrich Glazer added.

Perrotta’s life was also full of hobbies that included bird watching, coaching baseball for kids (especially his own), fishing, hunting, landscaping and his lifelong affinity for the Yankees,” Crandall said.

Perrotta is survived by his wife, Debbie; children Melissa and Michael Jr.; and siblings Tom Perrotta and Ann Berkman. His sister Kathy Segerdahl predeceased him as well as his parents, Frank and Helen Perrotta. The family held a private service for Michael on April 27.

“What I remember most about Michael and always will is that everyone invariably seemed to feel better when he was around,” Crandall said. “Had a positivity and magnetism that was almost irresistible.”