Alfonso Farruggia

Alfonso (Al) Farruggia, 64, of Huguenot, a retired bank computer programmer and steadfast family man who enjoyed the beach and fishing, died Thursday in New York Presbyterian Hospital, Manhattan.

Born in Sciacca, Sicily, Italy, he immigrated to the United States as a teenager with his family in 1965, moving to Brooklyn.

Mr. Farruggia graduated from New Utrecht High School.

After he and Deborah Yesalonis wed in 1973, the couple lived in Flushing, Queens, before moving to Huguenot, where they had lived for 31 years.

Mr. Farruggia had a 33-year career as a computer programmer for the former Chemical Bank, now Chase Bank, in Manhattan.

He cherished his family and most enjoyed being with them and his many friends. He loved the beach and fishing, having cookies with his coffee and was fond of long siestas.

He kept close ties with his family in Italy, and had visited Sciacca many times.

Mr. Farruggia was kind, loving and generous, his family said. Easygoing and personable, he had a joyful spirit, with a smile always on his face. He lived life fully and will be deeply missed, they added.

Surviving, along with Deborah, his wife of 42 years, are his daughter, Lisa Farruggia; his son, Michael; his brother, Vincent; his sisters, Giovanna and Maria Cristina Farruggia, and a grandson.

The funeral will be Wednesday from the Bedell-Pizzo Funeral Home, with a Mass at 11 a.m. in Our Lady Help of Christians R.C. Church, both in Tottenville. Burial will follow in Resurrection Cemetery, Pleasant Plains.

Services: Our Lady Help of Christians Wednesday, December 30,2015 at 11:00AM

Visitation: Bedell-Pizzo Funeral Home Monday, December 28,2015 7-9 and Tuesday, December 29,2015 2-4 & 7-9

Cemetery: Resurrection Cemetery (Staten Island)

Location: Bedell-Pizzo Funeral Home

Church: Our Lady Help of Christians R.C.Church