Former longtime Babylon Village resident and loving patriarch Ralph A. Grasso died Sept. 6, 2008 in Tamarac, Florida. He was 90-yearsold.

Born in Babylon to Frank and Angelina, he ran the family business - Lawrence Cleaners in West Babylon, with his partner, brother-in-law and best friend, Sam Stein.

"My father gained the reputation of a highly respected businessman who always treated his customers fairly and honestly," said his daughter, Gail VanLeeuwen of Babylon who added that he loved the Babylon Village community and all it had to offer.

He was an active member of the Babylon Tuna Club and loved to fish in the Atlantic Ocean and the Great South Bay.

Mr. Grasso leaves behind his wife of 63 years, Marian; his children: Renee Kotary and her husband Mark of Cedar Lake, New York and Dr. Rocco of Fort Lauderdale, Florida and his son-in-law, Barry VanLeeuwen. His grandchildren, Michele and Roger Clark, Alison and Ed Rykowski, Correne VanLeeuwen, Elizabeth and Rob Savicki, Laura and Joe Schaefer, Wendy and Michael and his great grandchildren, Madeline Savicki, Sophia and Thomas Clark also survive him as do his his sisters, Theresa Ritchen and her husband Ed of Charleston, South Carolina, and Mary Farrari of Huntington and his his nieces and nephews: Carol and Donna and Ed Stein.

He reposed at the Claude R. Boyd Spencer Funeral Home, Babylon Village, on Sept. 10, 2008. Interment followed in St. Joseph's Cemetery.