Michael P Rizzo

Michael P. Rizzo died peacefully in hospice on December 30, 2017. He is survived by his wife, Janet Rathgeber, his three children, Jane Kivel, Deborah Rizzo and Michael Rizzo and his two step-daughters, Gale Zimmerman and Rosel Caruso. He was pre-deceased by his 1st wife, Edith Greco and youngest son, Paul Rizzo. Many people have come to know him as a career detective and public servant, but few know that as a young man he was a gifted draftsman and artist-natural abilities he passed onto his children. During his high school years, he was a busy athlete playing basketball, boxing, golf and baseball. His skill as an accomplished third baseman gained him recognition by a scout of the former NY Giants. A patriotic high school grad, he enlisted in the US Navy in June 1946, served on the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt aircraft carrier and the USS Macomb destroyer/mine sweeper. He was awarded a victory medal and given an honorable discharge in May 1948. In 1951, he began a career with the Nassau County Police Department, spanning five years as a patrolman and thirty-three years in the detective division. Upon retirement on 12-15-88 as the most senior detective in the County, a Nassau Herald retirement announcement maintained: the highlight of his career was as personal escort to Prince Philip and Princess Margaret of Great Britain in 1965. A love of golf became a lifelong passion evidenced by local, regular tournament wins and trophies. A lifelong dream came to pass when he visited Scotland and played several memorable rounds of golf at the historic St. Andrews course. Michael was a principled man's man, a hard-working, respected Italian-American patriarch, and a man of few words. He lived his life as a moral example to everyone he met, and inspired the same. God's speed, Michael. You are loved and missed.