Adelaide Elizabeth Attard

Adelaide Elizabeth Attard passed away on June 14, 2023, in Boca Raton, Florida. She was 93 years old. She was born Adelaide Spitery on June 2, 1930 in Astoria, Queens, New York, to Consigliore and Elizabeth (nee Bonnici) Spitery, immigrants from Malta. Adelaide or “Addie” graduated from Julia Richman High school, and, in 1950 married Frank Attard, with whom she had two sons, Ronald and Gary. In 1960 Mrs. Attard was hired as a Supervisor in the Department of Recreation and Community Services for the town of Oyster Bay, Long Island, near to where she and her husband had purchased a home in East Norwich. The job included working with senior citizens and youth. Her interest in these populations and the people she subsequently came into contact with provided the direction her work was to take over a long, rich, and rewarding career. In 1971 she was appointed Commissioner of the Nassau County Department of Senior Citizen affairs-thereby becoming the first woman commissioner to be appointed to Nassau County government. The expanded duties of Commissioner lead Mrs. Attard to pursue and earn her BA degree in 1974 from SUNY, Old Westbury, and in 1978 she completed a Master of Professional Studies from The New School For Social Research, as well as a post-Master’s Certificate in Gerontology from Adelphi University – all accomplished while holding her post as Commissioner, teaching as an occasional adjunct instructor, and raising a family. Mrs. Attard’s involvement in government was motivated by a concern for senior citizens and the problems they faced in an increasingly youth-focused culture. She worked to dispel negative myths about aging and to recognize the ongoing contributions of the elderly, while providing and advocating for new programs and policies that would help them remain independent and productive members of society. She was instrumental in the development and promotion of the new reverse mortgage program enacted through nationwide legislation in the late 1970’s. In 1975, after 25 years of marriage, Addie and Frank divorced. In the years that followed, Addie’s career flourished. She met many new and interesting people, one of whom was Julian Fischgrund, a handsome and accomplished partner in the accounting firm Zigman, Levine & amp; Fischgrund. They met in an elevator and shared a friendly conversation which turned out to be a very fortuitous meeting indeed, resulting in the couple’s long and loving partnership of 30 years, ending with Julian’s death in 2017. Addie and Julian shared many wonderful experiences together, with travels to Europe and adventures in the western United States, and maintained close ties with members of both of their respective families. They divided their time between homes in Westhampton, New York, and Boca Raton, Florida, moving with the seasons, and always keeping a spare room open as a welcome for family and friends. In 1981 Addie was appointed by then - United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, Richard Schweiker, to serve on the National Advisory Committee for the White House Conference on Aging, and was subsequently appointed by President Ronald Reagan to be Chairperson of the Federal Council on Aging for five years. In 1982 she travelled to Vienna, Austria, to serve as a senior adviser with the U.S. delegation at the United Nations World Assembly on Aging, and served on the Board of Directors of the American Association for International Aging from 1983 to 1992. When Addie retired in 1991, she had served her Nassau County community for 20 years in a position that included responsibility for providing services to 285,000 senior citizens, the running of a main office and four additional community offices as well as 31 senior community centers, and for the oversight of more than 60 programs that, by the time she stepped down, had a combined annual budget of over twelve million dollars. She was an advocate for programs that yielded actual and practical benefits to her fellow citizens, and she served on many boards including the Nassau County Task Force on Family Violence, the Health and Welfare Council of Nassau County, and the Nassau County Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. During her career she also wrote a number of published professional articles and papers. For many years she was a Trustee on the AARP Mutual Funds Investment Program for the firm of Scudder, Stevens & Clark. She was the recipient of many awards, including the 1981 Congressional Award for Meritorious Service; the “Distinguished Contribution in the Field of Public Management Award” from Long Island Chapter of the American Society for Public Administration; the 1991 Citizen of the Year Award, National Association of Social of Workers, Nassau Chapter; and the 1989 Distinguished Area Agency on Aging Director Award, presented to her by the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging. These professional accolades, however, do not fully convey the kind of person Addie was, especially to those who knew her well. She had the gift of being interested in people; interested in connecting with them, no matter who they were, and listening to them with the desire, always, to promote greater understanding, and to be of possible assistance in resolving any kind of problem, large or small. She was caring diplomatic, engaging, gracious, dependable and loving. People were naturally drawn to her, throughout all phases of her life. Her natural elegance was not founded upon arrogance. She had a dry and sometimes slightly mischievous wit that was tempered by her fair-minded pragmatism. She was slow to anger but not intimidated by adversity. Her way was to mend, not to divide. Addie is survived by her sons Ronald (Sara), and Gary (Chrystal); grandchildren Scott (Ashley) and Alyssa (Eric); step-grandchildren Craig, Brian, and Charles; and great-grandson Sawyer.

Adelaide Elizabeth Attard

June 2, 1930 - June 14, 2023