He was loved
Last farewell to Bravest felled by 9/ll cancer
FDNY HERO Robert Tilearcio was remembered as a man of many talents: firehouse cook, stand-up comic, ceaseless advocate for all 9/11 first responders.
Family, friends and fellow firefighters filled a Long Island church Saturday for Tilearcio’s funeral, held three days after he succumbed to a Ground Zero-related brain tumor.
“Bobby was loved by many,” said Engine Co. 266 colleague LeRoy McGinnis in a moving eulogy. “The wealth of a man’s life should not be judged from what he owns, but by the lives he touched and the friendships he made.
“Skippy made a lot of friends,” he continued, using Tilearcio’s nickname. “I’m one of them. We miss him. We love him.”
Tilearcio, 58, was a typically genial soul who made a half-dozen trips to Washington, D.C., in his aggressive efforts to extend the Zadroga Act.
In a cruel twist, Tilearcio — after fighting for health coverage for all first responders sickened by 9/11 toxins — came down with a brain tumor.
McGinnis made mention of Tilearcio’s travels on behalf of the legislation that will now provide coverage for 9/11 illness victims through 2090. “Skip got up early, got on the bus and took it all the way to Washington, D.C.,” said McGinnis. “He did this many times ... He never gave up.”
The mourners gathered for a funeral Mass at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Massapequa, where Tielarcio’s casket sat near the altar beneath a red cloth. A photo of the late firefighter stood to its side.
There was laughter amid the tears as McGinnis recalled some of his old friend’s non-firefighting talents.
“He also did comedy,” said McGinnis. “I heard he sometimes refused to get off the stage. Good for him.” A procession of firetrucks, along with FDNY bagpipes and drums, accompanied Tilearcio’s casket to the suburban church.
Family members recalled Tilearcio spending 48 consecutive hours on the bucket brigade at Ground Zero after the twin towers were brought down by terrorists.
His wife and two children linked arms and silently sobbed as the casket came out of the church after the service.
Tilearcio died on Wednesday, 34 years to the day after first meeting his future wife Tina. He became the 15th FDNY member to die this year of a 9/11-related ailment.
He joined the FDNY in 1983, and was still assigned to the Rockaway Beach engine company at the time of his death.