Obituary of Anthony Louis Caserta

Anthony (Tony) L. Caserta of Lloyd Harbor, NY, died June 10, 2013 at Southside Hospital, Bay Shore, NY of heart failure. He was 74. Born in Mineola, NY June 22, 1938 to P. Charles and Antonia Marra Caserta, Mr. Caserta was raised in Manhasset, NY. He graduated from Manhasset H.S. ( 1956), received a B.S. degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT, 1960), earned his M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering at The Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn (1963), and was licensed subsequently as a Professional Engineer in NY and NJ. During his 35 years at Grumman Aerospace Corp., Mr. Caserta worked on various projects, including: designing the OAO Satellite Thermal Monitoring System; setting up/managing the company's Metrology Lab; co-authoring the Instrumentation part of the winning proposal for the LEM/LM Lunar Module contract; managing LEM Support Instrumentation engineers; Advanced Systems Test Manager for numerous Navy aircraft, Air Force satellite, USCG and DOT programs; managing classified and non-classified programs; creating and building the first Fiber Optic Data Bus, connecting airbourne computers via light; and receiving several patents for the corporation. During these years he belonged to a number of engineering societies and was active in the MIT Club of LI. Learning the real estate business in his youth, at age 16 Mr. Caserta was the youngest person licensed in NYS as a salesperson. He worked at his father's firm, Roslyn Realty. At MIT he was largely responsible for the purchase of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity house , still the chapter's residence. He was active in leadership for his fraternity and represented various Boston colleges and universities at the Boston City Council. In 1970 Mr. Caserta formed Inspecto, Inc., originally a sideline business specializing in the inspection of residential homes, primarily for potential buyers, realtors, and attorneys. At that time it was the only company chartered by NYS to perform home inspections. He also rendered architectural plans for new construction, renovations, additions, etc. for residential and commercial applications. He was instrumental in developing property subdivisions in NJ. Following early retirement from Grumman in 1994, Mr. Caserta ventured into automotive and marine engineering. Based on work he and his son, Charles, did during the latter's school years, he decided to develop amphibious land and sea vehicles for commercial and private use. Upon his son's college graduation in 1996 they began full time work designing, constructing, obtaining patents and licensing, etc., under Inspecto's Pontiphian Division, later adding Amphijet and relocating to Syosset, NY in 2006 after receiving grants from NYS and NYSERDA.He remained President and CEO of Inspecto, Inc. Anthony and Charles received the Innovator of the Year Award from LI Business News in 2002 and PTAP Award of the Year from LI Development Corp. in 2006. Their work was featured in THE NEW YORK TIMES, NEWSDAY, local newspapers, national boating and yachting publications. They were also active members of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary in Northport, NY. Mr. Caserta was a Huntington Republican Committeeman from the 1970s until his passing. Since the early 1980s, he headed the Van Wyck Lane road association in Lloyd Harbor. Known to some as a Renaissance man, an engineer's engineer, a genius, the Button Man, he was mostly a true patriot. A man of math, science, and music, he was an innovator, as well as a philosophical and creative thinker. Son of a pianist, he was an avocational pianist and composer who contrived new scales and modalities. He was in the process of writing a book about music from a mathematical approach. He loved astronomy, boating, fishing, gardening, and, in earlier years, participated on baseball, soccer, crew, and bowling teams and enjoyed playing tennis. He is enrolled in the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Uniondale, NY and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, VA for his achievements in aerospace. In 1969, Tony married Elizabeth (Betty) Cella of Manhasset and Huntington Bay. They established a home in Huntington. When their daughter, Andrea, and son, Charles, were a few years old, they moved to their present home in Lloyd Harbor, Huntington. He is survived by his wife, daughter and son, sister Rosemary Caserta Uhle, and many cousins. He was predeceased by his parents. A wake was held at the M.A. Connell Funeral Home in Huntington June 12 and 13, followed by Mass of the Resurrection at the Church of St. Patrick in Huntington and interment at the Cemetery of the Holy Rood in Westbury, NY June 14. Memorial donations may be made to the American Heart Association, the American Diabetes Association, or the Cradle of Aviation Museum.