Frank Umbrino: a Gentle Giant
Frank Umbrino of Palisades was born in the Bronx on January 26, 1947, the son of a lamp maker father and a mother who worked in a sweatshop. It was during his school years that he fell deeply in love with music. While he never played an instrument, he soaked up music performed by guest musicians, many of them famous, who played in his school’s rich music program.
He graduated from Evander Childs High School in the Bronx. Upon turning 18, he enlisted and served four years in the U.S. Air Force, in top secret detail. He was stationed in Thailand his final year. After returning home, a friend arranged a job for him at the Record Hunter, the ultimate music store, at 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue.
At the Record Hunter, he loved being surrounded by music, which deepened his life-long passion of Frank Sinatra and jazz. All the while, he attended Westchester Community College and Pace, where he earned a MBA in finance. Through the same friend who helped him secure a job, he met Margaret Monahan. It’s safe to say, as the lyrics of one of his favorite Frank Sinatra song goes, music led him to the woman he would “share all his tomorrows” with.
His parents moved to Sparkill and, when a neighbor put their house up for sale, Frank and Margaret purchased it in 1979. With two young boys, Vincent and Philip, and baby Elizabeth on the way, they moved to their current home on Swan Street in 1990.
He purchased two accounting firms, one in White Plains, the other in Rockland. Later, merging them, he made Rockland his home base. Frank had a unique practice with an eclectic clientele. His love of the arts attracted many professional musicians and performers. Locally, he was the go-to-guy at tax time for many Palisades residents and non-profit organizations such as the Palisades Community Center, the Children’s Shakespeare Theater, the Sparkill/Palisades Fire Department, the Palisades Swim Club, the American Legion and Wings Trust.
He was on the Finance Committee at St John’s Church in Piermont and he found great satisfaction in teaching finance and accounting at St. John’s University, Manhattan College and Westchester Community College. When, seven years ago, he was diagnosed with colon cancer, life came to a halt… temporarily. Determined to continue to work, he found a team of doctors at Columbia Medical and Holy Name Hospitals who were able to prolong his life for seven years without most clients knowing he was sick.
Two years ago, Frank helped the Palisades Community Center through the daunting and very complicated task of getting IRS non-profit status. As we were getting close to submitting the final papers, I asked him what we owed him. “This is on me,” he said, adding that he knew we were trying hard to make a difference in our community while protecting a historic landmark. “This is my community, too. I am happy to help in any way I can.” Other people who relied on him year after year echoed our experience with him. A man with no agenda, his mission, through his expertise in accounting, was to help people succeed.
When he passed away on February 6, 2011, he was at home surrounded by his loving family. His important presence in our community will be greatly missed. We send our heartfelt condolences to his family, his wife Margaret and Vincent, Philip and Elizabeth, his children.