'Life Of The Party': Beloved Farmingdale Music Teacher Gina Pellettiere Laid To Rest

FARMINGDALE, NY — Hundreds gathered at Our Lady of Lourdes in Massapequa as Gina Pellettiere, a beloved mother, daughter and music teacher, was laid to rest on Thursday morning. Many wore green, the dominant color of Farmingdale.

Pellettiere, 43, of Massapequa, was the single mother of her 2-year-old son, Joseph. "Ms. P," as her students knew her, was the director of the Farmingdale High School marching band and wind ensemble.

Pellettiere was on a bus ride she had taken more than a dozen times: She and her students were headed to their annual band camp in Greeley, Pennsylvania, when their bus overturned on Interstate 84 in Orange County just after 1:10 p.m. Sept. 21, state officials said. The bus tumbled down a 50-foot ravine.

The priest who gave Mass rose the question of what would become of Pellettiere's baby son, Joseph and then directed the answer toward Pellettiere's parents, Diane and Joseph.

"Diane and Joseph, if you look around the church today, you see the impact that this woman had on all of us," the priest said. "We realize that Gina is as great as she is for many reasons, but not the least of which is, the parents who raised her. Diane and Joseph, if you can raise someone like Gina to be the incredible woman she is, Joseph will have no problems at all while you're in his life. Let's hear it for Diane and Joseph."

Thunderous applause then rocked the church for several seconds.

He then read a note provided by Diane.

"Gina was a loving mother to her son, Joseph. She was always full of energy, taking him places and playing with him. She never missed a family event. She was always the life of the party. She was truly a loving daughter, a loving sister, a loving aunt, a loving niece and cousin and a loving and wonderful friend. Becoming a mom was a lifelong dream of hers. She was a single mom by choice and was blessed to have Joseph, who she cherished and adored more than life itself."

Pellettiere's parents attended every musical concert, parade or halftime show she held, said Rita Padden, the former fine arts director of Farmingdale. She celebrated every holiday with her parents and would go home every Sunday for macaroni.

"In living life to the fullest, Gina wanted her own family," Padden said at the Mass. "She wanted to be a mom. It was an amazing time when Gina shared she was expecting. Everyone was thrilled as Gina experienced the miracle of new life, Joseph, named after Gina's dad."

She involved Joseph in as much as she could, including Sunday macaroni dinners at his grandparents' home.

Padden then shared a note from Farmingdale Superintendent Paul Defendini.

"I loved Gina and her undying spirit and passion for the kids and music," Defendini wrote.

The priest noted the Farmingdale community's unity in the wake of the bus crash and urged Mass attendees to hug one another. He then asked for a "rousing applause for our friend, Gina," which churchgoers obliged for at least 30 seconds.

Loved ones of Pellettiere then asked everyone to pray for those the teacher impacted throughout her life: family, friends, and students.

Students remember Pellettiere for her jokes, energy, love of her job, pranks, passion and the belief she had in every student who picked up an instrument under her baton.

Pellettiere was a black diamond skier and an excellent golfer, Padden said.

Three wake services were held for Pellettiere between Tuesday and Wednesday.

Wednesday night's — the final of the three — saw an over two-hour line wrapped around Massapequa Funeral Home on Merrick Road. Mourners, may of them wearing their Farmingdale marching band sweatshirts or jackets, poured in from the parking lot of John J. Burns Park, where event parking was set up.

Inside the funeral home, hundreds of photos of Pellettiere with friends and family — plenty of them humorous — along with flowers sent from various Farmingdale programs and other school districts. A green and white flower arrangement forming a musical note was prominently displayed in the lobby.

People cried, exchanged laughs over memories of their time knowing "Ms. P," hugged one another and reunited with old teachers they had when they were music students.

Beatrice "Bea" Ferrari, 77, of Farmingdale, a retired teacher who chaperoned band camp every year, also died in the crash. Her funeral was held Wednesday.

Ferrari was remembered as a "beautiful soul" by her daughters, Dina Ferrari-Lopresto and Angela Ferrari-Aldieri.

"Mom loved Gina like another daughter," Angela said at the church. "They would laugh and have such fun."