People like Frank Tassone touched everyone around them with their kindness and love, his family said.

"He had a pretty simple life and the most important lessons he taught us was to work hard and always be there for your family. He was really admired for that," said his son Frank Tassone Jr., of Bayport, an executive at the Suffolk County Water Authority.

The East Northport resident died on May 26 of natural causes at the age of 96.

Frank C. Tassone was born on Oct. 4, 1928, in Spadola, Calabria, Italy. In the mid-1940s, he moved with his parents and siblings to Elmont, where he graduated from Sewanhaka High School. In 1958, Tassone returned to Italy where he met and married his wife, Concetta. The couple purchased a home in East Northport in 1961, where they would raise their four children: Valentino, Nick, Donna and Frank Jr. According to his family, Tassone was committed to making a better life for his family in America.

"He grew up in Italy when Mussolini was in power. When he moved here, he went to school at night to learn how to speak English," Tassone Jr. said. "He took a job as an aircraft mechanic at Venezuelan airlines at JFK Airport and worked for the airlines his entire life until his retirement in 1983."

Tassone enjoyed traveling, spending time in his garden, listening to Big Band music and going to church with his wife. A devout Catholic, Tassone attended Sunday morning Mass at 7:45 and would always come home with a treat for his kids.

"I remember him coming home from church and there would be a dozen doughnuts and bagels on the table," Tassone Jr. said. "He was a great father."

"He was big on Sunday dinners at 3 p.m. and insisted that everyone was home for dinner," said Tassone's daughter, Donna Koffer, a dental assistant from Naples, Florida. "It's a unique tradition that I miss."

According to his children, Tassone was immensely proud of his family. Tassone Jr. recalled telling his father about his first job in public service.

"I worked for then-Gov. George Pataki and when I told my dad he lit up and was so proud that his son was working for the governor of New York," Tassone Jr. said. "It kicked in that he raised his children really well. Especially from where he came from ... it was a real sense of accomplishment."

According to Koffer, Tassone adored his grandchildren and was a "very loving grandfather."

"He lit up whenever they came in and smiled, even to the last weeks of his life," Koffer said.

"He played games with them and brought them into the garden and showed them how to plant vegetables," Tassone Jr. said. "To him, that was a way to live out the golden years of his life. He lived his dream and lived it well."

Tassone's eldest grandchild, Nicole Cooper, said he taught her how to have "a good work ethic."

"He was a very hardworking man and because of that, he held his grandchildren to high standards," said Cooper, of Long Beach. "He was always out in the garden, made his own wine, took pride in his health, and cherished Sunday dinners. He really instilled those family traditions in us."

Having spent many summers with her grandparents, Cooper recalled helping her grandfather pick vegetables and zucchini flowers before giving them to her grandmother to cook.

"We ate the vegetables straight out of the garden. He always said 'mangia' and made sure our plates were full," Cooper said. "I think he would want his legacy to be remembered as someone who encouraged others to take pride in what we do, work hard, show up for who we love, and always be there for family."

Tassone is also survived by his wife, Concetta; sons Valentino and Nick; seven grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. A funeral Mass was celebrated last Saturday at St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church in East Northport, followed by burial in St. Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale.