OBITS: Staten Island Advance 12 Sep 2005; Staten Island, Richmond co., New York text-formatted by W. David Samuelsen for The USGenWeb Archives Project *********************************************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.org/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.org/ny/nyfiles.htm *********************************************************************** Source: Staten Island Advance Death Notices http://www.statenislandadvance.com/ Allen, Richard Vincent Richard Vincent Allen of Meiers Corners on September 9, 2005. Beloved brother of Loretta Donohue. Loving uncle of Michael R. Donohue and grand-uncle of Moira Donohue. Funeral from Harmon Home for Funerals, 571 Forest Ave, West Brighton, Tuesday 10:15 A.M. Mass of Christian Burial Holy Family Church 11 A.M. Interment St. Peter's Cemetery. Friends will be received Sunday 7-9 P.M. and Monday 2-4 and 7-9 P.M. In lieu of flowers, donations to Holy Family Church or The American Red Cross for Hurricane Katrina Relief would be appreciated. K. Terrance McGinley, Director, Harmon Home for Funerals Locally Family Owned and Operated Staten Island's only member of the International Order of the www.SiLive.com / obits Published in the Staten Island Advance from 9/11/2005 - 9/12/2005. Amaniera, Catherine R. (Riccardi) Catherine R. Amaniera (nee Riccardi) of Elm Park on September 11, 2005, Beloved wife of Leonard Amaniera. Loving mother of Joanne Amaniera Ferreras, Francine Amaniera Creutz and Joseph Amaniera. Dear sister of Rose DiPalma, Louis and Nicholas Riccardi. Cherished grandmother of Samantha Jo Ferreras and Nina Catherine Creutz. Funeral from Harmon Home for Funerals, 571 Forest Ave, West Brighton, Thursday 9:15 A.M. Mass of Christian Burial, St. Roch's Church 10 A.M. Interment Ocean View Cemetery. Friends will be received Tuesday and Wednesday 2-4 and 7-9 P.M. K. Terrance McGinley, Director, Harmon Home for Funerals Locally Family Owned and Operated Staten Island's only member of the International Order of the www.SiLive.com / obits Published in the Staten Island Advance from 9/12/2005 - 9/14/2005. Bucholtz, Florence Florence Bucholtz on September 8, 2005. Wife of the late Arthur. Loving mother of Penny and Arthur. Cherished mother-in-law of MaryAnn and Tina. Cherished grandmother of Nicole, Michael and Anthony. Loving great-grandmother of Anthony Jr. Fond sister of Harry and Philip Wilson, the late Thomas, John and Edward Wilson and Catherine Shibley. Also survived and loved by many nieces and nephews. Funeral from the Hanley Funeral Home, 60 New Dorp Lane, Tuesday 8:30 A.M. Mass Our Lady Queen of Peace Church 9:30 A.M. Interment to follow at Resurrection Cemetery. Visiting 2-4 and 7-9 P.M. Sunday and Monday. Hanley Funeral Home, Inc Family Owned and Operated www.SiLive.com / obits Published in the Staten Island Advance from 9/10/2005 - 9/12/2005. Ciraolo, Susan (Peccerillo) Susan Ciraolo (nee Peccerillo) of Annadale on September 10, 2005. Beloved wife of Joseph. Loving mother of Salvatore and Steven. Devoted daughter of Maria Peccerillo and the late Salvatore. Dearest sister of Michael Peccerillo and Lena Terranova. Fond sister in law of Diane Peccerillo, Michael Terranova, Theresa Gibb, Carol Weiss and Elizabeth Reagan. Cherished aunt. Funeral from JOHN VINCENT SCALIA HOME FOR FUNERALS, 28 ELTINGVILLE BLVD. (AT ELTINGVILLE STATION), on Wednesday 8:45 A.M. Mass of Christian Burial Holy Child Church 9:45 A.M. Interment Moravian Cemetery. A gathering of family and friends will take place on Monday and Tuesday from 2-5 and 7-9 P.M. www.SiLive,com / obits Published in the Staten Island Advance from 9/12/2005 - 9/13/2005. Collura, Phyllis Phyllis Collura on September 10, 2005. Beloved wife of the late Raymond. Loving mother of Connie Cagnetta, Theresa Parenti and the late Marie Collura. Survived and loved by six grandchildren and eleven great-grandchildren. Fond sister of Anne Morganelli and Marie Tocci. Funeral from Hanley Funeral Home, 60 New Dorp Lane, Tuesday 10 A.M. Mass of Chrisitan Burial at Rita's Church 11 A.M. Friends will be receive Sunday and Monday 2-4 and 7-9 P.M. Hanley Funeral Home, Inc Family Owned and Operated www.SiLive.com / obits Published in the Staten Island Advance from 9/11/2005 - 9/12/2005. Coniglio, Mary Mary Coniglio of Willowbrook on September 7, 2005. Beloved wife of the late Joseph. Loving mother of Grace Clemente, Dominick and the late Nicholas Coniglio. Dear sister of Helen Gerace. Adored grandmother of Kim, Lisa, Richard, Chris, Dawn, and Joey. Also survived by 2 great-grandchildren. Funeral from Casey Funeral Home, 350 Slosson Avenue, Castleton Corners on Tuesday. Mass of Christian Burial St. Rita's Church 10 A.M. Interment Resurrection Cemetery. Friends will be received Monday 7-9. www.SiLive.com / obits Published in the Staten Island Advance from 9/11/2005 - 9/12/2005. Danna, Anthony J. Anthony J. Danna of Annadale on September 10, 2005. Beloved husband of Carol (nee Marcinak). Loving father of Terry, Anthony, Elizabeth, Christopher and Eric Danna. Dear brother of Patsy and Salvatore Danna, Christina Graham and the late Elizabeth Berger and Gaetano. Also survived by three grandchildren. Funeral Service MATTHEW FUNERAL HOME AND CREMATION SERVICES INC., 2508 VICTORY BLVD. AT WILLOWBROOK RD., on Thursday 11:30 A.M. Committal Rosehill Crematory, Linden, N.J. Friends may call Tuesday and Wednesday 2-4 and 7-9 P.M. www.SiLive.com / obits Published in the Staten Island Advance from 9/12/2005 - 9/14/2005. DeMasco, Gertrude Gertrude DeMasco on September 10, 2005. Loving sister of Thomas and Joseph DeMasco, Antoinette Felice, Anna Luckett, Lucy Fernandes, Ronnie Bove and Sr. Rita DeMasco, SSD. and the late Martin, Dominick, and Michael DeMasco. Funeral from Hanley Funeral Home, 60 New Dorp Lane, Tuesday 8:45 A.M. Mass of Christian Burial St. Patrick's Church 9:45 A.M. Interment Holy Rood Cemetery, Westbury, N.Y. Friends will be received Sunday and Monday 2-4 and 7-9 P.M. In lieu of flowers, Masses preferred. Hanley Funeral Home, Inc Family Owned and Operated www.SiLive.com / obits Published in the Staten Island Advance from 9/11/2005 - 9/12/2005. DeRuvo, Michael S. Michael S. DeRuvo of Concord on September 10, 2005. Beloved husband of Natalie (nee Scardino). Loving father of Michael P. and Anthony S. DeRuvo and Angela M. Synan. Adored brother of Rose and Joseph DeRuvo and Josephine Picciurro. Also survived by eleven grandchildren. Funeral from Harmon Home for Funerals, 571 Forest Ave., West Brighton, Wednesday 8:45 A.M. Mass of Christian Burial St. Sylvester's Church 9:30 A.M. Interment Moravian Cemetery. Friends will be received Monday and Tuesday 2-4 and 7-9 P.M. K. Terrance McGinley, Director, Harmon Home for Funerals Locally Family Owned and Operated Staten Island's only member of the International Order of the www.SiLive.com / obits Published in the Staten Island Advance from 9/11/2005 - 9/13/2005. Haugh, Brian J. Brian J. Haugh on September 9, 2005. Loving son of the late John and Mary Haugh. Beloved brother of John, Gerard and Maureen. Loving brother-in-law of Monica and Josephine. Dear uncle of Kerri, Matthew, Clare and John. Cherished companion of Jacqueline Day. Former writer for Star Magazine and the Staten Island Register. Member of the Knights of Columbus. Brian loved his family and friends and had great passion for baseball, the theater and music. Brian's family will receive friends at M.J. Smith Sons Funeral Home 248 Prospect Park West, Brooklyn, on Tuesday and Wednesday from 2-5 and 7-9 P.M. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday 11:00 A.M. at St. Ann's Church on S.I. Interment to follow at Resurrection Cemetery. www.SiLive.com Published in the Staten Island Advance from 9/11/2005 - 9/12/2005. Healey, Audrey S. Audrey S. Healey formerly of Tottenville on September 11, 2005. Beloved wife of the late James. Loving mother of Joan Fox and mother-in-law of Bill. Grandmother of Nancy and Billy. Cherished and devoted great-grandmother of Shannon, Kaeleigh, Bridget and Katheryn. A funeral service wiil be held at Bedell-Pizzo Funeral Home, 7447 Amboy Rd. on Thursday, September 15th at 10 A.M. Interment Ocean View Cemetery. Friends may visit Wednesday 2-4 and 7-9 P.M. In lieu of flowers, contributions to the American Cancer Society would be appreciated. Bedell-Pizzo Funeral Home Family Owned & Operated since 1841 www.SiLive.com / obits Published in the Staten Island Advance from 9/12/2005 - 9/14/2005. Naugle, Keri Keri Naugle of Rossville on September 9, 2005. Beloved daughter of Carol Naugle and the late Harry Naugle. Loving sister of Sean, Erin and Shanna. Cherished granddaughter of Ann D'Afflitto. Funeral from JOHN VINCENT SCALIA HOME FOR FUNERALS, 28 ELTINGVILLE BLVD. (AT ELTINGVILLE STATION), on Wednesday 9 A.M. Mass of Christian Burial St. Joseph's Church 10 A.M. Interment Resurrection Cemetery. A gathering of family and friends will take place on Monday 7-10 P.M. and Tuesday from 2-5 and 7-10 P.M. www.SiLive,com / obits Published in the Staten Island Advance from 9/12/2005 - 9/13/2005. Sapichino, Anthony M. Anthony M. Sapichino. Beloved husband of Lisa M. (nee Barbara). Devoted father of Anthony, Salvaltore and Teresa. Loving son of Anthony M. Jr. and Vera. Dearest brother of Rosemarie Peyton. Funeral from JOHN VINCENT SCALIA HOME FOR FUNERALS, 28 ELTINGVILLE BLVD. (AT ELTINGVILLE STATION), on Wednesday 9:45 A.M. Mass of Christian Burial Holy Child Church 10:45 A.M. Interment Resurrection Cemetery. A Gathering of family and friends will take place on Monday and Tuesday 2-5 and 7-10 P.M. www.SiLive,com / obits. Published in the Staten Island Advance from 9/12/2005 - 9/13/2005. Smith, Wayne E Wayne E, Smith of St George on September 8, 2005. Beloved husband of Nanci (nee Manzo). Dear father of Casey, Wayne and Jazmine. Dear brother in law of Margie Hall and Vincent Manzo. Funeral Service from Casey Funeral Home, 350 Slosson Avenue, Castleton Corners on Monday 8 P.M. Private committal. Friends will be received Sunday and Monday 2-4, 7-9 P.M. www.SiLive.com / obits Published in the Staten Island Advance from 9/9/2005 - 9/12/2005. Venturini VENTURINI Knights of Columbus Assumption Council Number 1694, members and officers are invited to meet at Matthew Funeral Home, 7:30 P.M. in order to pay their respects to our Grand Knight and the Venturini Family, on their loss. D.G.K. Jim Bottiglia Published in the Staten Island Advance on 9/12/2005. Venturini, Josephine (Santomauro) Josephine Venturini (nee Santomauro) of Brooklyn on September 9, 2005. Beloved wife of the late William. Loving mother of Ella DiGiovanni and William Venturini. Fond mother-in-law of MaryLou. Dear sister of Mary Rosso and Margaret Scalzo. Cherished grandmother of John, Thomas, Theresa Ann and Joann. Also survived by four great-grandchildren. Funeral from MATTHEW FUNERAL HOME INC., 2508 VICTORY BLVD. AT WILLOWBROOK RD., on Tuesday 9:15 A.M. Mass of Christian Burial Holy Family RC Church 9:45 A.M. Entombment Resurrection Cemetery. Friends may call Sunday 7-9 P.M. and Monday 2-4 and 7-9 P.M. In lieu of flowers, donations to Assumption Council Knights of Columbus #1694, would be appreciated. www.SiLive.com / obits Published in the Staten Island Advance from 9/10/2005 - 9/12/2005. THERESA BASSFORD, 82 Retired nurse enjoyed gardening Monday, September 12, 2005 Theresa Bassford, 82, of Emerson Hill, a retired registered nurse, died Saturday in Staten Island University Hospital, Ocean Breeze. One of 10 children, the former Theresa Venezio was born and raised in Elizabeth, N.J. She moved to Emerson Hill 40 years ago. In 1945, Mrs. Bassford earned a degree as a registered nurse from the St. Elizabeth Hospital School of Nursing, also Elizabeth. For the next 38 years, she worked as the supervising nurse in St. Elizabeth General Hospital's Intensive Care Unit and OB/GYN department. Mrs. Bassford also worked as a private duty nurse in St. Elizabeth Hospital, the former Elizabeth General and the former Alexian Brother's Hospital, all in Elizabeth. She retired in 1983. She and her husband, the late Henry H. Bassford Jr., were long-time members of the Montclair Country Club, Clifton, N.J., where they enjoyed playing tennis. In addition to tennis, Mrs. Bassford enjoyed swimming and walking. "She did anything for health," said her sister Minnie E. Venezio. The garden at her Emerson Hill home, where she lived for over 50 years, was also a place that she favored. Mrs. Bassford planted beautiful flowers and cared for a waterfall, which held various types of fish. Mrs. Bassford was a parishioner of St. Anthony's R.C. Church, Elizabeth. Her husband of 54 years, Henry H. Jr., died in 2002. In addition to her sister Minnie, surviving Mrs. Bassford are two more sisters, Pauline R. Zeleniak and Mary L. Lyman, and two brothers, Albert M. and Frank R. Venezio. The funeral will be Thursday from the August F. Schmidt Memorial Funeral Home, Elizabeth, with a mass at 10:30 a.m. in St. Anthony's Church. Burial will follow in St. Gertrude's Cemetery, Colonia, NJ. SUSAN CIRAOLO, 47 Retired school aide was manager of family business Monday, September 12, 2005 Susan Ciraolo, 47, of Annadale, a school aide and store manager, died Saturday in Staten Island University Hospital, Ocean Breeze. Born Susan Peccerillo in Italy, she was brought to Brooklyn in 1966, where she attended Lafayette High School. In 1975, Mrs. Ciraolo moved to Castleton Corners and graduated from Susan Wagner High School the following year. She settled in Annadale in October of 1984. Since the family's business, Sal Peccerillo Nursery -- a floral shop named after Mrs. Ciraolo's father -- opened on Pelton Avenue, West Brighton, in 1984, she helped run the store. More than a year ago, the store moved to Forest Avenue in West Brighton. Mrs. Ciraolo worked there as a manager until the time of her death. According to her family, Mrs. Ciraolo's hobby was working with flowers. She also worked for the Board of Education as a school aide in PS 36, Annadale, for 13 years. Mrs. Ciraolo was a parishioner of Holy Child R.C. Church, Eltingville. She is survived by her husband of 26 years, Joseph; her two sons, Salvatore and Steven; her mother, Maria Peccerillo; a brother, Michael, and a sister, Lena Terranova. The funeral will be Wednesday from the John Vincent Scalia Home for Funerals, Eltingville, with a mass at 9:45 a.m. in Holy Child Church. Burial will follow in Moravian Cemetery, New Dorp. RICHARD ALLEN, 94 Retired shipping clerk enjoyed telling stories Monday, September 12, 2005 Longtime Staten Islander Richard Vincent Allen, 94, of Meiers Corners, a retired shipping clerk who loved to tell his family stories from his second job in the information booth at Macy's department store in Manhattan, died Friday from complications of pneumonia at Staten Island University Hospital, Ocean Breeze. Born in Bayonne, Mr. Allen moved to West Brighton in 1943. He would stay in that community for 22 years, relocating to Todt Hill in 1965, then settling in Meiers Corners three years later. For 47 years, Mr. Allen worked as a shipping clerk for Standard Oil of New Jersey, which later became ExxonMobil. He retired in 1973. Mr. Allen also worked in the information booth in Macy's for a short time in the 1950s, and frequently told his family about the colorful characters he encountered on the job. He also did volunteer work for decades. From 1945 until about 1970, he helped in the children's ward at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan. After that, he volunteered at his parish, Holy Family R.C. Church, Westerleigh, helping with the phones, bookkeeping and filing for two decades until about 1990. "He was the type of guy that if you were in trouble, he would help you and no one would ever know," said his nephew, Michael R. Donohue. Mr. Allen took 24 separate trips to Europe, most of those trips to Union Hall, Ireland, where his parents were born and raised. He was also an avid Broadway-goer, and loved doing crossword puzzles and reading mysteries. Surviving is a sister, Loretta Donohue. The funeral will be from the Harmon Home for Funerals, West Brighton, with a mass tomorrow at 11 a.m. at Holy Family R.C. Church, Westerleigh. Burial will follow in St. Peter's Cemetery, West Brighton. KERI NAUGLE, 33 Took part in United Cerebral Palsy programs Monday, September 12, 2005 Keri Naugle, 33, of Rossville, a native Staten Islander, died Friday in Catskill Regional Medical Center, Harris, N.Y. Born in Sunnyside, she was brought to Rossville as a young girl. For the past 11 years, she had been a resident of the Center for Discovery in Harris. Ms. Naugle had participated in programs sponsored by United Cerebral Palsy from age 2 1/2 through age 14. Surviving are her mother, Carol; a brother, Sean; two sisters, Erin Naugle and Shanna Naugle, and her maternal grandmother, Ann D'Afflitto. The funeral will be Wednesday from the John Vincent Scalia Home for Funerals, Eltingville, with a mass at 10 a.m. in St. Joseph's R.C. Church, Rossville. Burial will follow in Resurrection Cemetery, Pleasant Plains. ELAINE O'HANLON, 79 Huguenot homemaker enjoyed math, computers Monday, September 12, 2005 Huguenot resident Elaine Marian O'Hanlon, 79, a homemaker, died yesterday at home. Born Elaine Carey in Brooklyn, Mrs. O'Hanlon skipped two grades while in elementary school, and graduated from Manual Training High School, Brooklyn. Mrs. O'Hanlon had always wished her parents could afford to send her to Catholic school, and when she had children of her own, she felt it important that they receive a Catholic school education. At age 13, she met David O'Hanlon, her childhood sweetheart, whom she would ultimately marry. The two spent their first date at an ice cream parlor, sipping sodas. A few years later, Mr. O'Hanlon joined the U.S. Navy and served during World War II. They married during one of his leaves, and had a wartime honeymoon in Manhattan. Mrs. O'Hanlon worked for four years as a fanfold operator for New York Trust Company in Manhattan. Although she was never otherwise employed, she always felt she never stopped working, calling raising a family a full-time career. In June 1963, she moved from the Park Slope section of Brooklyn and settled in Huguenot. The O'Hanlons marked 60 years of marriage last October. Mrs. O'Hanlon said the secret to the success of her marriage was that she always laughed at her husband's jokes. Mrs. O'Hanlon always considered herself a "city girl" -- she loved visiting Manhattan and attending Broadway shows. She also loved reading, crossword puzzles, traveling around the world and dining out. Mrs. O'Hanlon made two trips to Tipperary, Ireland, her grandparents' hometown, as well as trips to other parts of Ireland, England and Italy. Her family members overseas, in turn, would visit her in trips to Staten Island. She was always very good at math, and took care of the finances at home, including filing her own tax returns. After her husband retired, the couple attended the "Options for Older Adults" program at the College of Staten Island, where they took courses in computers and theater, studying the New York theater scene and writing reviews of the plays they saw. Mrs. O'Hanlon was an active parishioner of Our Lady Star of the Sea R.C. Church, Huguenot along with her husband, and served as a Eucharistic minister there. She volunteered in the church school's library and lunchroom while her children and grandchildren attended classes there. She also volunteered in her community, assisting the family of a child with cerebral palsy. In addition to her husband, David, surviving are three sons, David, Gerard and Jim; four daughters, Kathleen Shamah, Mary Ellen Cannizzaro, Maureen Maresca and Elaine Benvenuto; two sisters, Teresa Gates and June Dutton; 19 grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren. Her daughter, Patricia O'Hanlon, died in 2001. The funeral will be from the John Vincent Scalia Home for Funerals, Eltingville, with a mass Wednesday at 9:45 a.m. at Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, Huguenot. Burial will follow in Holy Cross Cemetery, Brooklyn. BRIAN HAUGH, 52 Writer for the Star was longtime Arrochar resident Monday, September 12, 2005 Last Friday evening was a typical Brian Haugh "event": Phone a friend -- or two, or three -- then venture to Manhattan for a show. But that night, in the middle of a performance of the Broadway musical "Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang," the retired celebrity tabloid writer succumbed within minutes to a heart aneurysm that burst. He was 52. For his stunned friends and family, "dying on Broadway" was a fitting end to the colorful life of this longtime Arrochar resident whose unrelenting thirst for all things entertaining -- from the Yankees and Mets to the Rolling Stones and Frank Sinatra -- cast him both personally and professionally in a quasi-public limelight, one from which he did not shy away. WRITER FOR THE STAR From 1984 to 1999 when he retired due to health problems, Mr. Haugh was a writer for the Star, the weekly supermarket tabloid. Based primarily out of the newspaper's former Westchester County office, Mr. Haugh also briefly served as its Hollywood bureau editor, hobnobbing with veteran actors and TV starlets at private parties, benefit fund-raisers and even the Oscars. In a city driven by youth and beauty, Mr. Haugh's 5-foot-10, 380-pound frame cast a memorable shadow on the sidewalks of Beverly Hills. He parlayed his stand-out physique, quick wit and remarkable ability to recall just the right anecdote to lure a bemused celebrity into conversation, and possibly a story. And it didn't hurt that he bore a resemblance, "from a distance, in the dark," he often said, to the late actor Peter Ustinov. Years later, with that oversized combination of brawn and charm indelibly etched in their minds, celebrities would instantly recall Mr. Haugh during a chance meeting on a Manhattan street or backstage after a performance. That encounter usually ended with a flash of Mr. Haugh's point-and-shoot camera. From dressing room exits to West Side restaurants, Mr. Haugh had a knack for spotting the powerful and famous. And when he did, his companion or a complete stranger was nudged into snapping a picture of "The Hawk," as he was known to his many friends, with his arm lightly positioned around the shoulder of the usually obliging celebrity. Broadway stars, church cardinals, the great voices of opera, politicians and decades worth of baseball players, owners and managers were all captured on film. John Haugh said his older brother's fascination with the limelight was apparent in 1969 when, at age 16 and vacationing upstate with his family, he saw the Miss Universe contest being broadcast on television live from New York City. Ignoring his parents' strong objections, he took the two-hour ride on a bus, Instamatic camera and notepad in hand, and talked his way into the pageant. He returned home victorious with a slew of photos and interviews with the contestants, including one with the reigning Miss Ireland, Jakki Moore, with whom he maintained a lifelong friendship. "What would you have done if they turned you away?" his brother recalled asking. "And he said, 'You know, that thought never crossed my mind." BROOKLYN NATIVE Mr. Haugh, a native of the Windsor Terrace section of Brooklyn, moved with his family to Arrochar in 1976. He attended Regis High School, Manhattan and graduated from Bishop Ford High School in Brooklyn. He remained active in the alumni associations of both schools. He attended St. John's University, Grymes Hill, while working part time as a reporter at the weekly newspaper, the Staten Island Register. He remained with the Register until 1975, when he became a media specialist with the Staten Island Community Corp., an anti-poverty agency formerly based in Stapleton. When the poverty agencies were dissolved in the early 1980s, Mr. Haugh moved over to the Star, which proved to be his true calling. At the Star, Mr. Haugh's specialty was finding out the plotlines for not-yet-aired television soaps, such as "Dallas" and "Dynasty," taking great pains to cultivate contacts with behind-the-scenes personnel who would remain loyal to the Star and shun inquiries from its closest competition. While his work often resulted in stories with such headlines as: "Dynasty: Sizzling surprises in store for survivors of wedding massacre," he also turned out more sensitive pieces, such as the series of stories on comedian Andy Kaufman's desperate bid to overcome the lung cancer that would claim his life in 1984 at age 35. Mr. Haugh's reporting so enchanted the comedian's devastated family that he was the only reporter invited back to their Long Island home for a private interview and lunch after the funeral service. His efforts in the quest for juicy gossip were not always successful. In 1988, Star editors were eager for an exclusive interview with temperamental megastar Madonna, and chose Mr. Haugh for the task. Through some well-placed contacts he was booked in an adjoining first-class seat on a flight from Los Angeles to New York. Seizing what he thought was the right moment to introduce himself, Mr. Haugh hadn't even uttered his first word when she donned a pair of eyeshades, turned her back and rolled into a fetal position, sleeping without moving a muscle for the entire five-hour flight. "I was actually worried," he later recalled to friends in all seriousness. "I couldn't even tell if she was breathing." DRAWN TO THEATER Drawn to the theater from his teens, Mr. Haugh was a fixture in the aisles both on and off Broadway, and occasionally on the stage. Last June 16th and for the previous three years, he was among the 100 actors selected to read excerpts from "Ulysses" in the annual "Bloomsday on Broadway" tribute to James Joyce. A member of the Steamship Historical Society of America, Mr. Haugh and his family recently toured the new luxury liner, the Queen Mary 2. "Even with his increasing medical problems infringing more on his mobility, Brian was able to stay with the guided tour through most of the ship," recalled his brother, Gerard. "When a surprise offer came to board a fireboat and follow the Queen out into the Narrows many in the exhausted group politely declined. Brian thought it sounded like great fun, and feverishly tried to coax us into it. He just never wanted to see a good day out come to an end. And that day was truly one of our best." At home, he was a regular caller on the New York talk radio circuit. "Brian from Staten Island" weighed in on the day's hottest topics in news and sports. Last week, listeners to a WABC-AM radio show chuckled when they heard his suggestion that instead of raising money for Hurricane Katrina victims, Hollywood stars should simply open up their hotel-sized second, third and fourth homes to the evacuees. DEVOUT CATHOLIC Above all, Mr. Haugh was a devout Catholic who maintained strong ties to family, friends and institutions wherever he went. "He loved seeing people have a good time, preferably with him," said his sister, Maureen, who noted that their father, the late John, "was his best friend in the whole world." But, she said he "was especially caring and generous and the first to offer help and support when those times were not so good." In addition to his brothers, John and Gerard, and his sister, Maureen, surviving are four nieces and nephews. The funeral will be Thursday from the M.J. Smith Funeral Home, Brooklyn, with a mass at 11 a.m. in St. Ann's R.C. Church, Dongan Hills. Burial will be in Cemetery of the Resurrection, Pleasant Plains. ANTHONY DANNA, 71 Taxi driver enjoyed boating Monday, September 12, 2005 Anthony J. Danna, 71, of Annadale, a taxi driver, died Saturday in Staten Island University Hospital, Ocean Breeze. Born in Mariners Harbor, he moved to New Dorp in 1976 and settled in Annadale in 1980. A graduate of Port Richmond High School, Mr. Danna worked as a taxi driver for 10 years at Port Richmond Cars before going on to work at Clove Lake Cars for 20 years. He enjoyed taking trips to Atlantic City with his sister, Christina Graham, once or twice a year. He also looked forward to visiting his sister, the late Elizabeth Berger, in Melbourne, Fla., where they would take gambling cruises. Mr. Danna loved to go boating with his sons out of the Tottenville Marina. He was a parishioner of St. Michael's R.C. Church, Mariners Harbor. Surviving are his wife of 30 years, the former Carol Marcinak; his three sons, Anthony, Christopher and Eric; two daughters, Terry Danna and Elizabeth Danna; two brothers, Patsy and Salvatore; a sister, Christina Graham, and three grandchildren. The funeral will be Thursday at 11:30 a.m. in the Matthew Funeral Home, Willowbrook. Arrangements include cremation.