From: McEneney, Mike (MC1953)
Date: Sun, Dec 11, 2011 at 9:10 PM
Subject: Judge Cardona’s “62 Funeral
Dear John,
Here is the story from the Albany Times Union about Judge Cardona’s Funeral Mass.
Mike
——– Original Message ——–
Subject: The PJ’s funeral
Date: Sun, 11 Dec 2011 20:39:49 -0500 (EST)
ALBANY — The hundreds who packed St. Mary’s Church in downtown Friday for the funeral of Appellate Division Presiding Justice Anthony V. Cardona came away feeling they knew the beloved judge a little better, whether it was hearing stories about him or singing — and the whole church sang — the “12 Days of Christmas,” just like the Cardona family would do every year.
Anthony V. Cardona Jr., the oldest son and an assistant district attorney in Albany County, led the congregation in the song and had one stipulation: When the verse of “five golden rings” came around, only the judges, more than 110 of them, were instructed to sing that part. The directive brought laughs from the congregation. But when the judges met the challenge with a vigorous and melodious rendition, applause erupted throughout the church.
Every Christmas, at least once, Cardona would gather his family around, his four children, their spouses, and his grandchildren, put them in groups for the singing of the “12 Days of Christmas,” his son said. “Now we’re going to sing it.”
Many walked out of church smiling, in between tears. How many times do you sing a non-religious song at a funeral, even though the argument could be made the song has religious symbolism?
Cardona, 70, died Sunday after a yearlong battle with cancer. A Glenmont resident and Navy veteran who served in Vietnam, he began his law career in 1971. He was on the bench for 27 years, first as an Albany County Family Court judge and then as a state Supreme Court justice who was appointed to the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court Third Department and served as the presiding justice of that five-member panel which has jurisdiction in 28 counties.
Those who knew him agreed that Cardona exemplified happiness and a love of life. He always appeared robust and bigger than life.
Bishop Howard Hubbard of the Albany Roman Catholic Diocese reflected on Cardona’s “rich and truly accomplished life.” He spoke of the judge’s compassion while serving in Family Court, which the bishop said “in his mind was the most difficult seat on the bench.”
Cardona’s virtues included a “serene temperament and impeccable integrity” that complimented his “keen legal skills,” Hubbard said. The judge never lost his sense of humor nor respect for all who appeared before him, and despite his accomplishments, “the joy of his life was his family, truly the cherry on the sundae of his life,” he said.
“He was like a brother to me,” Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings said outside the church. “I loved him. He taught lessons of life, how to treat people and love your family,”
State Supreme Court Justice Joseph Teresi, a young lawyer with Cardona at the firm of Ainsworth Sullivan Tracy Knauf, said, all in all, Cardona was “really a simple person. He liked nothing better than to play with his grandchildren or sit down and have a bowl of linguine with clam sauce.”
The Rev. Anthony J. Chiaramonte, a childhood friend of Cardona’s and one of several priests on the altar, said in his homily, “Our hearts are broken and our eyes full of tears” as we “cry out ‘why’? ‘Why Tony, why now?’ “
The priest spoke of tender moments with Cardona at St. Peter’s Hospital on Thanksgiving morning and of making peace with God. Chiaramonte said he once received a card that said, “Thank God for people who make life beautiful,” adding, “Tony truly made life beautiful for all of us.”
Cardona was known for a metaphor that everyone he touched, especially judges, came to enjoy — “making sauce.” Appellate Division Associate Justice Edward Spain worked with Cardona on a daily basis. He said Cardona “was fiercely passionate about … getting our decisions out in a timely fashion.”
“He had a lot of other duties, whether it was deciding on a color of a wall” if the court was being renovated, “or picking out a piece of furniture or who would be appointed to a committee,” Spain said. “When asked if he had made a decision on a person or picked a color, he would said, ‘No, I’m making sauce.’ “
He believed good Italian sauce has to simmer, and that meant he was thinking about it, Spain said. “But then again, he got those decisions out.”
Teresi said Cardona was a conciliator. “One of his great lines was, ‘We’re going to sit down and make sauce.’ ” It meant “sit down and work this out, not be adversarial.”
Albany attorney Richard Miller sang “Ave Maria” and “Silent Night” among other songs.
Daughter-in-law Meghan Cardona, who is married to Cardona’s son, Brian, spoke of her warm acceptance into the family and of Sunday dinners and big vacations, which could include 17 people.
Attorney Roger Fritts, who gathered with Cardona every Saturday morning at a breakfast club, said the judge’s “Italian heritage was reflected in many ways … eating being one.”
Cardona loved people, and a long list wanted to visit him during his illness. One day, Cardona told Fritts, “If anyone comes, I don’t like, you can keep him out,” and Fritts said he responded, “Who the hell might that be?”
“Terrific” was a favorite word of Cardona’s, Fritts said, as he broke down, noting that if Cardona could look around the packed church, he would say, “Isn’t this terrific!”
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[JR: Sounds like he was a hell of a fellow. Too bad, I didn't get to meet him. Who will fill those big shoes?]
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