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Schools

Peekskill Schools Mourn Death of Gary 'Porky' Male

Equipment manager recalled as man who 'would do anything for the kids.'

The Peekskill school board adjourned its Sept. 4 meeting in honor of Gary “Porky” Male, a respected figure on the Peekskill sports scene for three decades who died Aug. 16.

Male, whose official title was sports equipment manager, “would do anything for the kids” throughout the school district, said Gregory Sullivan, assistant superintendent for business, after the board formally learned at its Aug. 21 meeting about his death. “He was [Athletic Director] Lou Panzanaro’s right arm.”

Panzanaro said Male’s work was “not a job but a way of life. He loved it and the kids loved him. No matter what, he was always there to help and we are already feeling his loss. He was a great man,” Panzanaro said after the Sept. 4 meeting.

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Board President Joseph Urbanowicz, who had Male for a Minor Little League coach, described him as “caring, loving, hardworking ... he will be difficult to replace. … He was like a family member to many of the parents and kids whose lives he touched. … He loved the city, he loved athletics and most of all he loved kids. He will be missed.”

Male began his career in 1982 as a volunteer supporter of all athletic programs, especially the football and basketball programs. He managed the boys’ basketball team for 29 years and helped create the press box in Depew Park.

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Please click here to read the text of the resolution, which was presented to the board by Superintendent of Schools James Willis.

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