The fundraiser was held on a Thursday afternoon at the newly refurbished Weehawken Elks Lodge. With everyone having a busy schedule, it was hard to predict how many people would attend.
"It was marvelous," said Raye Ferullo, who works in the athletic office at Weehawken High School. "It was something my husband wouldn't have believed. He didn't know how well-liked he really was. But Lou was always there for the kids. He wanted to do whatever he could to help the kids. He thought that all of the kids in Weehawken were all his."
Lou Ferullo died suddenly in February of 2003 while shoveling snow during the great blizzard of that year.
More than 300 people turned out for the event, which went to the scholarship fund.
"We started this fund in lieu of flowers at the wake," said Rob Ferullo, Lou's son. "We gave away the first scholarship last year, but we wanted to make sure that we could do this indefinitely."
So the first fundraising event was held Thursday afternoon, and everyone came out to remember Lou.
"Weehawken was his home," Rob Ferullo said. "He loved it and did everything to help the people of Weehawken. He loved the kids. He went out of his way to help the kids, to be a public servant of the town. He did whatever he could, whenever he could."
Rob Ferullo said that Thursday was selected as the date for the fundraiser because he didn't want to interfere with the first Weehawken High School football game, nor the Youth Football League's openers, all scheduled for the weekend.
"Plus, there were a lot of people from the schools who wanted to come," Rob Ferullo said. "It was done to accommodate them as well."
Because of the timing and the scheduling of the event, Rob Ferullo had no idea what the turnout would be like.
"I was completely blown away," Ferullo said. "It was the first time we had an event and I was worried about numbers. But we went there at 2:45 p.m. to go set up and there were some women already there. By 4:30, the place was packed."
There was a disc jockey spinning records and food galore, all in honor of the man who served Weehawken well for more than three decades.
"It was very gratifying to see how many people not only came to remember Lou, but came to appreciate his efforts with the children," Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner said. "It was a wonderful fundraiser, and it was all going to a good cause."
Graduating senior
The funds will go to present a scholarship to a graduating senior from the Weehawken High School Class of 2005. Last year, Michelle Phillips was the first recipient of the Louis A. Ferullo Memorial Scholarship.
The event will enable perhaps two scholarships to be awarded this year.
"It was a great outpouring of support from many people in the community and the school system," Turner said. "Having a scholarship fund like this is a great way for the accomplishments of Lou to be recognized over the years."
"We want to make it an annual event," Rob Ferullo said. "The people of Weehawken came through for my dad. It really was a fitting tribute to the guy."
His widow wholeheartedly agrees.
"It was marvelous," Raye Ferullo said. "All these people came up to me and told me all these great things about Lou and they were true. If he were still here, he would have put a stop to it all, but might have reconsidered when he knew it was for the kids. Part of Lou will always be with us. We miss him, but he'll always be there."
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