Rockville Centre Herald 08-26-2021

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_____________ ROCKVILLE CENTRE ____________

HERALD $1.00

RVCFD holds first parade since 2019

Former longtime RVC resident dies

Girl Scout reaches gold standard

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VOL. 32 NO. 35

AUGUST 26 - SEPTEMBER 1, 2021

St. Agnes hosts a ‘rare’ wedding indeed By TOM CARROZZA tcarrozza@liherald.com

Courtesy Steve Grogan

Capturing the crown Firefighters with Woodland Engine Company 4 of the Rockville Centre Fire Department captured the 4th Battalion 2021 tournament championship on Aug. 21. The Woodlanders beat out other teams from the East Rockaway, Lakeview, Lynbrook, and Malverne fire departments in hose and ladder competitions.

Last month, St. Agnes Cathedral hosted a wedding that was different from those that usually take place there, when a Rockville Centre woman and her fiancé tied the knot. Shayna Prophet and Gary Roopchand were wed in the cathedral, and then headed out onto Sunrise Highway, where they led a parade-like march to the Masonic Temple on Lincoln Avenue where Shayna’s brother Ian is a member, to the cheers and honks of residents near the Rockville Centre train station. Roopchand is orginally from Georgetown, Guyana.

The Roopchands received permission from St. Agnes’s rector, the Rev. Michael Duffy, to have the theme and music, which utilized drummers and sheet music from Prophet’s old choir director, Michael Bower, for the wedding ceremony. Duffy could not say for sure whether this was the first Indian-style wedding the church had hosted, but he acknowledged that it was “rare.” As is custom in Indian weddings, there were ceremonies on three separate days. The first saw a pre-wedding ceremony that the couple used as a meetand-greet for their families and friends. The wedding and procession onto Sunrise took place the CONTINUED ON PAGE 13

‘A way to honor my husband and pay it forward’ By MIKE SMOLLINS msmollins@liherald.com

Despite the continuing coronavirus pandemic, the Agresti family has been able to support those in need through the Pat Agresti Memorial Foundation, which is preparing for its biggest fundraising event of the year next month. The foundation was created in the name and memory of the longtime Rockville Centre Little League coach and board member, who died of pancreatic cancer in March 2019, at age 56. Pat’s widow, Mary Agresti, said that she and their three sons, Michael, 30, Christopher, 26, and

Patrick, 22, were touched by the outpouring of support after her husband died. In response, they created the foundation to give back to a community that rallied around them in their time of need. “Someone coined the hashtag #payitforward because of all the ways he gave back to the community, and the community came back 10-fold for us,” Mary said of her late husband. “It was therapeutic to start this foundation, because my sons and I believe that we took a bad situation and are trying to make something good out of it. If we can give back and make a family’s life a little bit easier, that’s why we started

this foundation.” Pat Agresti was known for his generosity, perseverance and sense of humor, Mary said, and for frequently wearing visors. He served on the Little League and Basketball League board of directors for 25 years, and also volunteered as a coach in both leagues. He was diagnosed with cancer in October 2018. Though doctors at Sloan Kettering Memorial Cancer Center in Manhattan were initially hopeful about his outlook, he eventually took a turn for the worse. As he battled the illness, community members helped the Agresti family in many ways, including sending

anonymous gift cards, mowing their lawn and walking their dog. “When you’re in the hospital and doing chemotherapy treatments, the last thing you want to worry about is paying bills or who’s going to take the dog out,” Mary said. “People in this neighborhood really came through.” After Pat died, she wanted to continue his community out-

reach, she said, while also helping those in need in the surrounding area. St. Agnes Cathedral School also honors Pat’s memory each year by presenting an award in his name to a graduating senior who is caring and generous and displays positive morals and ethics. The Agresti foundation hosted CONTINUED ON PAGE 15


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