Patsy Veltidi was a true son of Nanuet. Born and raised

here, he attended Nanuet Elementary (later Highview)

School through eighth grade, and upon graduating went

on to Pearl River High School, in the days before Nanuet

had its own secondary school.While still in high school, his

education was interrupted by World War II, and Patsy

served his country by joining theU.S.Navy. When the war

was over, likemost veterans, Patsy returned to his hometown

and married his sweetheart, Lillian. Together they built

their own home on Englewood Avenue in Nanuet. Patsy

went to work for a local painting contractor, Interstate

Painters and Decorators, and within 10 years wound up

owning the company. (His son Thomas currently owns and

operates the same company.) During those early years,

Patsy joined the fire company in Nanuet and served as its

president in the early 1960s.

As a young businessman in the community Patsy was asked

to join the Nanuet Rotary Club. He eagerly agreed and became a very active member of this service organization.

The Rotary Club realized a growing need for a youth

sports program in the community and in 1955 formed a

boys’ baseball league. Patsy was one of the first managers

in the league. The next yearNanuet was awarded an official

Little League charter and Patsy’s team won the first league

championship. He won league championships three out of

the first four years the league was in existence. In 1960 the

Nanuet Little League chose Patsy as the Nanuet’s first All-

Star team manager. During his tenure in the Little League,

Patsy – with the help of Lillian – organized and coordinated

the first Little League sports banquet and awards dinner.

In the 1950s theNanuet community petitioned the state for

its own high school. Patsy served on the official committee

that represented Nanuet in its presentation to the New

York State Education Department in Albany in seeking a

charter for a high school in Nanuet. Due to the efforts of

that committee and strong community support, the state granted the charter and, in the fall of 1959, Nanuet Junior-

Senior High School opened its doors. Given Patsy’s background

in sports, when the high school was opened he

turned his focus toward the athletic department. In an

effort to make sure the athletes of Nanuet were given all

the accolades they deserved, a group of community men

formed a booster club, The Knights of the Round Table.

While a member of that organization, Patsy organized the

firstNanuetHigh School sports banquet, a spaghetti dinner,

cooked by Lillian and held in the school’s cafeteria.

Unfortunately, the booster club died out after a couple of

years.

In 1964Patsy organizedNanuet’s first varsity football dinner,

held at the Nanuet Restaurant. All varsity football players

were honored at the dinner and awarded “Little Brown

Jugs” with their name, number and the winning score over

Pearl River that year, 13-12, painted on each jug. When

Patsy was asked to speak at the dinner he suggested that

the parents of all Nanuet athletes, not just football players,

make a concerted effort to revive a booster club so that

other teams could have similar dinners and awards. That

night the seed of the Black and Gold Club was planted.

During the winter of 1965, Patsy and the other founding

fathers of the Black and Gold Club – Ralph Smith, Ken

Harniman, Tom Fay, Arthur Bosley and Ted Kenny – met

on many occasions and, in the spring of 1965, the club was

up and runningwith Patsy serving as the club’s first secretary.

Patsy and Lillian then embarked on a mission: to find a

brown jug that would be the symbol of victory each year

whenNanuet playedPearlRiver in football,with thewinning

school proudly displaying the Little Brown Jug and earning

bragging rights until the next year’s game. After an

extended search and the purchase of many antique

brown jugs, the perfect jug was found. In the fall of

1968 Patsy presented the official Brown Jug to

Nanuet. That jug, with the scores of each game

printed on the side, is still on display today.

In 1967 Patsy was the major contributor in the formation

of the Thanksgiving Nanuet-Pearl River Alumni

Football Game. The game was originally played under

the auspices of the newly formed Nanuet Alumni

Association. Patsy served as the first president of the

Nanuet Alumni Association and was responsible for

obtaining Board of Education approval for the football

game and use of the equipment and facilities. He was

also responsible for obtaining insurance for the players,

pre-game ticket sales, game day ticket sales, and

game day security. Patsy supervised the alumni football

game for the first five years that it was played. During that

time all proceeds for the game were donated to the Jerry

LeoMemorial Scholarship fund.Patsy served on the selection

committee for the Jerry Leo Scholarship fromits inception

in 1965.

As time went on, Patsy and Lillian also moved on, selling

their house on Englewood Avenue and buying their dream

house, and a boat, in Ocean Beach, N.J. Even though he

had moved, Patsy insisted on maintaining a Post Office

box inNanuet. This allowed himalways to have an address

in his much-loved hometown. When Patsy passed away in

1987, at age 62, the funeral services were held in the shrine

church of St. Anthony’s in Nanuet. The whole community

was there to honor his life and memory. Patsy’s heart was

always with his community and the people who lived there

alongside of him. He was laid to rest in St. Anthony’s

cemetery, forever remaining a part of the town he loved so

dearly.