Robert A. Rissetto Sr

Robert “Bob” A. Rissetto Sr, 92, of Sunset Road, Upper Chateaugay Lake, NY, passed away on Tuesday March 26th, 2024, surrounded by his family at CVPH after a brief illness. He was born in Dumont, NJ on May 1st, 1931, the son of Luis and Carmella Rissetto. He was the youngest of three boys, Luis “Laddy” and Henry “Hank”. Bob was a graduate of Dumont High School, Dumont N.J, where he met and began dating his future wife, Elizabeth “Betty” Rissetto. They were married on November 29th, 1952, while he was completing his service in the U.S Army during the Korean War. They were happily married for 64 years prior to her passing in 2017. After his honorable discharge from the US Army, Bob wanted to use his interests in drafting and architecture, so he took a job with Air Associates, a military defense contractor. After realizing his true passion was for teaching and not drawing, he obtained his bachelor's degree in education from Fairleigh Dickenson University. He then accepted a position as a Middle School History teacher at River Dell Junior High School. He also became their baseball coach, where he enjoyed some of his happiest times leading his teams against some of the strong divisional rivals in the area. His players knew him as “Coach” a tag that he wore w honor and pride. He and Betty designed and personally built their home in Washington Township NJ, where they spent over 20 years raising their four children. Wanting to further his education, he returned to college and obtained his master’s degree in education from Columbia University. At that time, he enrolled in a summer Teachers Seminar, at SUNY Plattsburgh which was he and his family’s introduction to the North Country. He was then hired as an Assistant Principal at South Orangetown Junior High, where he built and lead his “teams” of teachers to develop a new and nontraditional teacher/student protocol that emphasized “team learning”. Known universally as a strict, but fair disciplinarian, he always sought opportunities to give kids a “second chance”, frequently taking time out of his personal schedule to meet with students, teachers, and parents. Shortly thereafter, he moved up to become the Assistant Principal at Tappan Zee High School, where he immersed himself in assisting students find their “pathway” to further education. He was well recognized in the school and community for his tireless efforts supporting the sports and community programs. In 1990, after 30+years and many graduating classes, he retired and relocated with his wife to Chateaugay Lake NY, where they had lived seasonally and had spent many summers with his family, vacationing and constructing a home since 1976. This home, or the “lake” as he referred to it, had become his consuming passion. Designing and building every square inch of that home was his pride and his joy and Betty was always by his side with a hot cup of coffee, a cool glass of wine or a shoulder to lean on. While he enjoyed fishing off his pier, playing 18 on the east course at Malone Golf Club or cruising the lake in his boat, his focus was always on completing his dream home, which he nicknamed “Infiniti”. Bob and Betty are survived by their 4 children, Robert A Rissetto Jr., Jennifer Ryan and her husband Patrick, Paul Rissetto and his wife Rachel, Kimberly Kisling and her husband Steven. They were blessed and extremely proud of their children and 7 Grandchildren, Samantha, Robert (Bobby), Melissa, Haleigh, Jessica, Matthew, and Tyler. The family would like to express their sincere and heartfelt gratitude to the compassionate care, tireless efforts, and professionalism to the nursing staff in the critical care unit of CVPH. During his final moments, they were exceptional, and we are truly grateful. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:00 am on Friday, April 5th at St Bernards Church in Lyon Mountain New York. Memorial donations can be made on his behalf to The American Legion Post 1623, P.O box 19, Lyon Mountain New York. Arrangements are entrusted to the Brown Funeral Home, 29 Broad Street, Plattsburgh, N.Y. 12901. (518) 561-3980. Online condolences and memorial candles may be offered at www.brownfuneralhomeinc.com.