'He loved Paterson': Tom Fuscaldo's friends, family remember political activist

PATERSON — Tom Fuscaldo, who died last month at age 94, was well-known in the city as an oddball and rabble-rouser. He is remembered for his gadgets, quirks and misadventures, from a failed run for governor in 1989 to his penchant for giving roadkill proper burials.

But those who knew him say there was always a method to his madness: He wanted to leave behind a better world.

“He was an enigma,” said Glenn Salisbury, who met Fuscaldo 25 years ago at a meeting of the North Jersey Bottle Collectors Association. “He broke the mold when they made him.”

Salisbury was one of more than 50 close friends, family members and neighbors who gathered at Preakness Bible Church in Wayne on Sunday for a memorial in Fuscaldo’s honor. There were tears, but far more laughs, as the attendees shared stories of a man who lived a full but most unusual life.

'One Eye on Paterson'

Fuscaldo’s larger-than-life personality was accentuated by his signature eye patch, the inspiration for his watchdog alias, “One Eye on Paterson.” The loss of vision in one eye was the consequence of a car accident that happened about 50 years ago. But family members said he liked to embellish the cause of his injury, especially when children were around.

“He always told me a different story — one time it was from an umbrella, another time it was a bee sting,” said Jessica Puig, his nephew’s daughter. “One time it had to do with a lion.”

Fuscaldo left behind a list of people he wanted Puig to inform of his death. She said the shortest phone call was 18 minutes.

“Because every single person told me a story about Uncle Tom,” Puig said.

Fuscaldo, who earned a living by installing TV antennas, was better known for his hobbies and activism, which included bottle collecting and outings at the shooting range. Though nothing epitomized his wish to leave behind a better world more than his lifelong love of beekeeping.

Consequence and conviction: Tom Fuscaldo's contributions to Paterson were important

When Lynn Paglia bought her first beehive 15 years ago, she contacted the New Jersey Beekeepers Association, which connected her to Fuscaldo, the longtime chapter president of the organization.

“That’s where our friendship started,” said Paglia, who was wearing a yellow-and-black pin with Fuscaldo’s face on her white cardigan. “But he was so much more than that.”

There is a tradition that happens when a beekeeper dies, she said. “We tell the bees,” said Paglia, who assumed the care of Fuscaldo's backyard hive.

One extremely hot summer day, Fred Verillo, Fuscaldo’s neighbor, saw him walking around the neighborhood wearing an unseasonable red sweater. Apparently, a neighbor had lost his swarm, which is a natural part of a honeybee colony. The only way to lure them back is to find the queen, which Fuscaldo was hoping to do by wearing the color red.

“He found the queen and brought them back,” Verillo said. “Whatever crazy thing you can think of, Tom did it.”

Remembering a Paterson character: Tom Fuscaldo, advocate who kept 'one eye on Paterson,' dies at 94

Leading Paterson political activist

The colors of honeybees — yellow and black — became the theme colors for his heroics, used on pins, bumper stickers and flags, one of which he raised on the second floor of his home on Preakness Avenue, with the words "One Eye on Paterson." His yellow-striped Cadillac was a regular sight around the city when Councilman Michael Jackson was young.

“I always saw the car riding around the city,” Jackson said. “I used to be terrified of that car — I thought he was a truant officer.”

A self-professed man of the people, Fuscaldo was a nuisance to those in power. He held politicians' feet to the fire at City Council meetings and in the many letters to the editor he submitted to The Record. His populist crusade irked many politicians, but he remained friends with Jackson.

The 1st Ward councilman remembers Fuscaldo warning him not to run for office because he thought the city’s political landscape was too crooked.

“He said, ‘You’re not going to win — they’re too corrupt,’” Jackson said.

Two years ago, Fuscaldo’s health went downhill and he began to show signs of dementia, said his nephew, Kim Puig. Puig tried to convince him to move south to where his only surviving sibling, a brother, lives.

But Fuscaldo insisted on staying in his childhood home on Preakness Avenue. Puig said his uncle requested that his ashes be scattered over the Great Falls.

“He loved Paterson with all his heart,” Puig said. “He was going to live and die there.”

Darren Tobia is a contributing writer for Paterson Press.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson NJ activist Tom Fuscaldo memorial service held