By Jeremy Walsh
Long Island City gathered to say goodbye Sunday to a beloved longtime resident who was slain outside his home as he helped a frightened neighbor and confronted a homeless veteran later charged by police with his murder.
Some 200 people attended memorial services for Nicholas Nowillo, 65, held at the Evangel Christian Church a block away from his home of 34 years. Nowillo was attacked Sept. 3 at 10:40 p.m. while escorting a neighbor who was nervous about a man outside her car to her house, his family said. After sustaining blunt force trauma, Nowillo suffered a heart attack, the city medical examiner's office said. He died later that night at Mt. Sinai Hospital.
“I never imagined being here once again, saying goodbye to another loved one,” said Nowillo's daughter, Sandra Khan, who lost her 3-year-old daughter, Zara, to a severe case of the flu in February. “I'm a little jealous, but I know my father is in heaven embracing my daughter.”
Nowillo's eldest daughter, Doris Suda, said her father was devoted to helping others.
“His last words and actions speak for the kind of man he was: He requested to be a New York organ donor,” she said.
On projection screens behind the small folded flag at the dais, photos of his life flashed by: glimpses of a father, a student and even a young, proud man in pegged jeans and a leather jacket in a surfing pose atop the hood of a 1958 Buick.
The services drew City Councilman Eric Gioia (D-Sunnyside) and U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Astoria) as well as family from as far away as Florida and Ecuador, where Nowillo was born.
The Rev. Robert Johansson said he always looked forward to the visits Nowillo would pay him after Sunday sermons.
“He took a hit and he was struggling,” Johansson said of Zara's death. “He hurt terribly, and week after week he couldn't figure it out. Maybe now he has it figured out.”
Nowillo was an Army veteran who worked as a jeweler until he retired three years ago. A neighborhood fixture, he regularly attended meetings of the Dutch Kills Civic Association and Community Boards 1 and 2.
“He was a very nice guy, never complained much,” said Jerry Walsh, the civic president. “He was there when we needed people. It was just a shame that this happened.”
Police arrested a suspect, 43-year-old Eric Cherry, most recently of the Borden Avenue Veteran's Residence, in connection with the attack. He was arraigned Saturday on charges of manslaughter and assault, the Queens district attorney's office said. Cherry has a series of arrests from 2006 and 2007 on suspicion of cocaine possession, attempted theft and possessing burglary tools, the Queens DA's office said.
“If there's justice in this world, something's going to happen to that guy,” said Jaime Marrelo, 46, manager of the nearby textile company Passementerie Inc.
Nowillo's civic influence lives on in Suda, who was in Manhattan attending her first session of the Citizens' Police Academy the same night he was killed.
“An hour later my father was brutally murdered in front of his house,” Suda said, noting she will continue to attend the 14-week class familiarizing civilians with police procedure.
“It's a tragic shock, but it's not surprising that he was trying to help someone out with his last act,” said Andy Maldonado, assistant pastor of the church Nowillo attended. “Whenever he would come to one of our events, he was one of the first guys on the scene to set up tables or make coffee. He was a service-oriented guy.”
Reach reporter Jeremy Walsh by e-mail at jwalsh@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 154.
