By Hank Russell
Norma Gonsalves, who once served as the presiding officer in the Nassau County Legislator, has died. She was 90 years old.
According to her obituary, Gonsalves was born Norma Lee Cordaro in Brooklyn on June 11, 1934. She graduated from St. Joseph’s College for Women, also in Brooklyn, with a bachelor of arts degree in History and received her master of arts degree from Hunter College and Brooklyn College. She spent 25 years as an educator in the New York City school system; he spent many years at a junior high school in Bushwick. It was during her training to become a teacher, when she was volunteering at a summer camp in East New York, that she met John Gonsalves, who was also a New York City school teacher and administrator. They were married in 1962 and moved to East Meadow that same year, to the house where they lived the rest of their lives. John passed away in 2019.
Gonsalves taught English and was particularly fond of introducing her students to plays, including Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” the obituary stated. She also shared her lifelong interest in the performing arts, encouraging several of her students to pursue acting careers and was proud to see many of them appear over the years on television or in the theater in New York City. In the 1960s, she took several years off from teaching to raise her children, but returned to the classroom when they were a bit older, eventually retiring in 1993.
Her passion and flair for teaching were matched by her interest in and devotion to the life of her community, starting with the Parent-Teachers Association in the East Meadow School system. She was the founder of the Council of East Meadow Community Organizations and a member of many civic organizations including the East Meadow Chamber of Commerce and the Kiwanis Club of East Meadow. She was also a noted community watchdog in her own right, and was part of the community advisory committees for the Nassau County Correctional Facility and the Town of Hempstead solid waste management efforts, according to the obituary.
After she retired from teaching, Gonsalves ran for local office, and was elected in 1998 to represent East Meadow and the surrounding communities in the newly established Nassau County Legislature. A Republican, she served in the legislature for 19 years, rising to become its leader as Presiding Officer in 2011. During her time in office, Gonsalves took pride in listening to and responding effectively to the needs of all her constituents, including by working with colleagues across the aisle to better serve the community as a whole. She retired in 2017.
“It has been an honor to serve the taxpayers of the County and my constituents in the 13th [legislative district],” Gonsalves said in a statement. “Lowering crime and implementing the NARCAN program were two of the many public safety initiatives of which I am very proud. On a personal level I take pride in establishing the Hispanic Heritage month and outreach to the Latino community; establishing a Veterans Clinic at Nassau University Medical Center; and sustaining the Cornell Cooperative Farm in East Meadow.”
Gonsalves garnered many awards over her career, including the Town of Hempstead Pathfinder Award (2022), Woman of Distinction from the New York State Senate (1998), the East Meadow Chamber of Commerce Woman of the Year (1999) and the recipient of the chamber’s Marvin Bernstein Humanitarian Award (2015).
On February 4, Gonsalves passed away in East Meadow.
“The members of the Legislative Minority Caucus were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of our former colleague Norma Gonsalves,” Nassau County Legislature Minority Leader Delia DeRiggi-Whitton (D-Glen Cove) said. “Norma served her community with great passion and intensity for nearly two decades as a Legislator and seven years as Presiding Officer, and we extend our deepest condolences and prayers to her family and loved ones as they continue to grieve her loss.”
Gonsalves is survived by her three children, Gregg, Dana and Carin, and four grandchildren.
Visiting hours will be from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on February 12 and 13 at the Leo F. Kearns Funeral Home in East Meadow. A funeral Mass will take place at 9:45 a.m. on February 14 at St. Raphael’s Parish in East Meadow.