On Monday, July 28, 2025, Salvatore Zerbo, Jr. passed away suddenly.  He was born in Brooklyn, NY on February 3, 1968 to Salvatore and Angela Zerbo, who predeceased him.  He was the youngest of four children and the second youngest of roughly 30 first cousins.  He attended PS 160, Pershing Junior High and Franklin Delano Roosevelt High School as well as trade school as an adult.

At an early age he began to work as a union tile setter for his uncle, Peter Zerbo.  Over the years, he set tile in that capacity in the home of Rosie O'Donnell, the World Trade Center and other famous places.  At the age of 20, he met Tina Lucenti.  They were married on July 17, 1998 and had shared 37 loving years before his untimely passing.  They had one child, Salvatore Joseph, now aged 17.

From early childhood, Sal, affectionately called Junior by his family, had a passion for all things with motors or wheels, including cars, both fast and fancy, motorcycles and boats.  Throughout his adult life, he always had one or more dogs, who he treated like family.  Having lived in the same home on 53rd Street in Borough Park Brooklyn from birth until the age of 38, he had many friends throughout the neighborhood.  In 1999 he and Tina purchased a home on Copake Lake, here in Columbia County, which they used as a weekend home for several years until 2016, when they and Salvatore moved in and made it their permanent home.

Family was very important to Sal.  You might be able to get away with some things, but any threat or slight to his family was a deal-breaker for him.  He was a devoted son to his mother, living in the same home with her until she passed away in 2016.  The Copake house allowed them to spend more time with his father, to whom he was equally devoted, who by this time was living full-time just outside Hudson.  It also made it easy to have fun adventures with his sister Mary, her husband Brian and their three children; Ilana, Adam and Steven, as they had a summer home just on the other side of the lake.  Those adventures included family outings to local orchards to pick strawberries, cherries, blueberries, peaches, pears, plums and apples as each came into season.  He had an appreciation for the agricultural area which he called home.

His father's land in Claverack included significant acreage.  There, Sal Sr. passed along his enthusiasm for hunting to Sal Jr., who in turn passed it along to his son Salvatore.

From their house in Copake, Sal enjoyed boating on the lake, gardening and raising chickens in their backyard.  For a brief time prior to the pandemic, Sal got the chance to live out his dream of owning a restaurant as the owner and chef at The Pasta Bowl on Route 23 in Craryville. It was popular spot and it made him feel like "the pastabilities are endless."  Since the restaurant's closing, he worked in general construction, sometimes for himself and sometimes for Silver Fox Builds and Renos.

Sal could be quite serious, possibly even intimidating, but he could also be funny and charming and was well-loved by many.  His niece and nephews have many happy memories of playing "union coffee break," with him, and the fun they had around his obsession with aliens.  He and his son Salvatore were "best buds," doing almost everything together, dressing alike and sharing the same interests.  He was taken way too soon at the age of 57, and will be sorely missed.

Sal is survived by his wife Tina, son Salvatore, sisters Catherine Villanueva and Mary Redler, brother Joseph Zerbo, brother-in-law Brian Redler, nieces and nephews Ilana Mele, Catherine Zerbo, Adam and Steven Redler, along with their spouses Frank, Kristen and Aviana and great-nieces and nephews Lily, Henry, Zachary and Gabriel, many cousins and friends.

Visitation: Saturday, August 2nd from 3-5 pm with a prayer service from 5-5:30 pm at Wenk Funeral Home in Chatham. As an alternative to flowers, you may send donations in his memory to Copake Rescue Squad at 283 Mountain View Rd. Copake, NY 12516.