26 THE COURIER SUN • FEBRUARY 26, 2015 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIt www.couriersun.com Obituary George Onorato, former Queens state senator, dies BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO [email protected] @aaltamirano28 Lifelong Queens resident and former state Senator George Onorato, who served the 12th Senate District in western Queens for over two decades, died on Feb. 21. He was 86. Onorato began serving the district, which encompasses Astoria, Long Island City, Sunnyside and parts of Woodside and Maspeth, in 1983 until he announced his retirement in 2010. He was succeeded by state Senator Michael Gianaris, who currently holds the position. “George Onorato will always be part of the fabric of western Queens,” Gianaris said. “He dedicated his long and happy life to serving others and making the communities he represented better places to live. George Onorato served our country, our state and our neighborhoods in a way that made a positive difference in people’s lives. I will miss him. My thoughts are with his family at this difficult time. May his memory be eternal.” Onorato graduated from Long Island City High School and served in the United States Army from 1950 to 1952. Former state Senator Serphin Maltese, who served with Onorato in the state senate for many years, remembered him as a ” true man of the people.” “He gave a special view on things,” Maltese said. “I’m sorry to lose him.” Onorato was married to Athena Georgakakos and had three children, Joanne, George and Janice. A funeral mass is scheduled to be held on Feb. 26 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Francis of Assisi Church at 22-17 45th St., followed by burial at St. Michael’s Cemetery at 72-02 Astoria Blvd. in East Elmhurst. With additional reporting by Robert Pozarycki Students and community leaders honored by BP Melinda Katz at Black History Month ceremony Borough President Melinda Katz marked Black History Month during a ceremony at York College on Feb. 23, when she honored a host of individuals and local organizations who she said have done much to make Queens a better place to live. “Black History Month gives us an opportunity to learn about and reflect upon the many achievements African Americans have made in a diverse array of important fields, including science and technology, arts and culture and politics and government,” Katz said during the event in the faculty dining room. “The celebration of Black History Month helps ensure that these achievements are appropriately recognized and celebrated and reminds us all about the importance of respecting people of all races and ethnicities, because all of us have dignity as human beings and deserve the right to be able to pursue our dreams and contribute to society to the best of our abilities.” Katz presented Citations of Honor to several distinguished community members, including Ramon Cameron of Project Hope – New Direction, Karen Clements of Clements Communications Inc., Diamond Craig of Purposely Pretty, Andrew Jackson of the Langston Hughes Library, Dr. Selena Rodgers of York College and artist and teacher Charles Tilly. A number of exceptional organizations also received honors during the celebration, including The Door Restaurant, The Order of the Feather Fraternity, K.E.Y.A. Dance Company and the Rosedale Jets. “I am very proud to honor these distinguished individuals and organizations who have done so much to make the ‘World’s Borough’ such a wonderful place to live, work and visit,” Katz said. In addition to presenting the Citations of Honor, Katz also presented eight high school seniors with college scholarships of $1,000 each. The scholarship winners are Queens residents who entered and won Borough President Katz’s African American Heritage Scholarship Competition. Students in the competition were judged on their academic and civic achievement and on the quality of their written submissions as to what Black History Month means to them. The winning students are Anu Alalade of Queens Gateway H.S., Keli Almonte of Hillcrest H.S., Asoromchukwu Animalu of Francis Lewis H.S., Matthew Loyd of Thomas Edison CTE H.S., Asia Matthews of York College Academy, Diamond Moody of Townsend Harris H.S., Azana Newman of Hillcrest H.S. and Mekai Ruddock of York College Academy. The scholarships are being funded by Citibank, JetBlue, Con Edison, Cricket Wireless and the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. Additional financial support for last night’s event was provided by the Jamaica YMCA and the Queens Youth & Senior Funding Corp. Katz commended her African American Heritage Committee for coordinating the planning of last night’s celebration. The committee is comprised of community leaders who feel strongly about the importance of honoring the past, while also looking to the future. The borough president’s African American Heritage Committee includes committee chair Andrew Jackson along with Pastor John Boyd of New Greater Bethel Ministries, Bill Briggs of the Youth & Tennis Academy, Cedric Dew of the Jamaica YMCA, Marc A. Haken of Community Board 8, Khaair Morrisono of V.O.Y.C.E., Harbachan Singh of Community Board 8 and the Queens General Assembly, Roslin V. Spigner of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and Tiffany Williams of Y Roads. Photos courtesy Melinda Katz
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