Oldest retired FDNY Bravest dead one month shy of turning 104

The oldest living retired member of the FDNY who served the streets of Brooklyn for nearly three decades has died at the age of 103 — just one month shy of his next milestone birthday, officials said.

Anthony Aquaro, a war veteran who served Engine 269 on Union Street for 26 years, died Friday, the Uniformed Fire Officers Association Local 854 announced Saturday, adding that he “left an indelible mark on the FDNY and all who knew him.”

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of retired firefighter Anthony Aquaro,” the FDNY said in a statement to The Post.

“A good man who lived a long and wonderful life.”

His cause of death was not immediately known.

Aquaro, a Navy veteran who fought in World War II from 1942 to 1945, became a member of New York’s Bravest in 1953 at the age of 31, SILive reported. 

The accomplished centenarian married his high school sweetheart while on leave during World War II in 1944, and the pair, who were wed for nearly 81 years, shared two children, four grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren, according to the Staten Island Advance.

“My greatest blessing is wealth,” Aquaro, a Staten Island resident, told the oulet during his birthday celebration in 2023.

“Not the monetary kind, but the wealth that comes with being blessed with a beautiful and loving family of children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and nieces and nephews.”

A wake will be held on Monday at Casey McCallum Rice South Shore Funeral Home on Staten Island. Visitation will take place between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Aquaro’s funeral will take place Tuesday at 11 a.m. at St. Clare Roman Catholic Church, also on Staten Island. He will be buried at Resurrection Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Tunnel to Flowers Foundation or St. Jude’s Hospital, according to UFOA Local 854.