Anthony J. Holdampf

Anthony "Tony" Holdampf was born July 17, 1937, and passed away on May 30 at the age of 88. Born and raised in Manhattan, New York, he lived a life defined by service, faith, and devotion to his family.

He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Mary Ellen (nee Corry) his sister, Mary Holdampf; his daughter Kathleen LaGrow (Robert) and their daughters Kaitlyn and Lauren; his son Anthony Holdampf and his children Alexis, Corry, and Kyra; his daughter Margaret Hudson (Terence) and their children Nora and Devin; and his son David Holdampf (Linda) and their children Madison, David, Delilah, Mila and Liam; beloved nieces, nephew and friends whose lives he touched. He was preceded in death by his brother Joseph Holdampf.

Tony served with the 101st Airborne Division and carried that sense of duty into a 37-year career with the NYC Fire Department. He began at Engine 43 in the Bronx before transferring to Ladder 19 in the South Bronx during the War Years of the late 1960s and 1970s, when arson and poverty turned entire neighborhoods to ash and firehouses ran around the clock. Tony was then a charter member of Tactical Control Unit 712, an elite unit deployed into the most dangerous fires in the city at the height of the crisis. After the War Years he served at 37 Truck before retiring from 52 Truck in Riverdale.

After retiring he volunteered with Volunteer Hose Company No. 2 of West Haverstraw, where he was a life member and was honored as Rockland County Fireman of the Year. His fellow firefighters said it best. “If I'm in trouble, Tony is who I want beside me. No matter what, he had your back.” He never needed a reason to help someone. Once, after pulling a dog from a burning building, he gave it mouth to mouth until it came around. He did what he thought was right. That was Tony. And as he always said, “It is what it is.”

A deeply religious man and devoted Catholic, Tony made pilgrimages to Lourdes, Fatima and Medjugorje and dedicated decades to volunteer work at various locales. His kindness, generosity, and integrity were not things he talked about. They were how he lived. He was the kind of neighbor who would plow out half the block after a snowstorm before breakfast and never say a word about it.

Endlessly curious and remarkably capable, there was almost nothing he couldn’t do with his hands. Whether it was electrical work, plumbing, carpentry, or sheetrock, he did it all. In his quieter moments he painted and the pieces that hung in his home were genuinely beautiful. His interest in gardening resulted in flowers enjoying spaces all around his yard from spring to fall.

A prolific photographer in later years, he never left the house without his trusty camera and drove hours several days a week, never returning without hundreds of pictures which he greatly enjoyed sharing. He was also a prolific traveler, visiting more than 100 countries in his lifetime and coming home from each trip with stories and thousands of pictures. When asked what his favorite trip was, he would always say, "My next one."

He has already left for it.

Visitation will be held on Wednesday from 3:00 PM to 8:00 PM at T.J. McGowan Sons Funeral Home in Garnerville, NY. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Thursday, June 4 at 10 AM at St. Peter and St. Mary's Church, 115 Broadway, Haverstraw, New York.