# EASTCHESTER NY, Officer Joseph A. DePippo



## kwflatbed

*Eastchester police officer dies on job, will get police funeral *

By SHAWN COHEN
THE JOURNAL NEWS

 
Joseph A. DePippo

 
Frank Becerra Jr./The Journal News
Mourning drapes hang outside the entrance to Eastchester police headquarters yesterday in honor of veteran Eastchester Police Officer Joseph A. DePippo, who died of a heart attack.

EASTCHESTER - A 54-year-old veteran town police officer who died from an apparent heart attack while working yesterday will be given an official police funeral.
Joseph A. DePippo, a married father of two who lived in Mahopac, collapsed behind the Eastchester police headquarters, just before completing his overnight shift about 8 a.m. He was taken to Lawrence Hospital Center in Bronxville, but was pronounced dead upon arrival, said Eastchester Police Chief Timothy Bonci.
"I've been at the hospital all morning," Bonci said yesterday afternoon. "The hospital was full of officers. Obviously, that reflects on how people felt about him. He was a really good guy - not a bad thing to say about him. He was a good officer, always reliable."
DePippo worked as a patrol officer and had been with the department for 31 years.
His sister, Mary Schembri, said he remained with the force for three decades because he loved his job, his colleagues and the community he served.
"He was just an all-around good guy, loved to be around people, loved to help people and was dedicated to his job 150 percent," she said. "That's why he never left his job."
DePippo was born and raised in Eastchester and, in his late teens, became a volunteer Eastchester firefighter before joining the local police force.
He moved to Mahopac in the mid-1980s after marrying his wife, Judy DePippo.
"He was just a wonderful husband, an excellent father, good brother," Schembri said. "There was nothing you could do to get him mad. He was just fun-loving and loved life."
The chief said he did not know whether DePippo had prior health problems.
Police are now helping the family make funeral arrangements.
"We'll give him a department funeral, a full-dress funeral," Bonci said.
Visiting hours are tomorrow and Monday, from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m., at Westchester Funeral Home, 190 Main St. in Eastchester. A Mass of Christian burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at Immaculate Conception Church, Tuckahoe, followed by entombment at Gate of Heaven Cemetery.

http://www.thejournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070317/NEWS02/703170356/1018/NEWS02


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