Farmingdale Dedicates 'Beatrice Ferrari Day' In Beloved Teacher's Memory

FARMINGDALE, NY — May 15 was dedicated as "Beatrice Ferrari Day" in Farmingdale Village in the beloved teacher's memory.

Ferrari, who was retired, was one of two educators killed in a bus crash last year.

The Farmingdale community was rocked when a bus carrying part of the high school marching band crashed in Orange County on Sept. 21. The bus was headed for the school's annual band camp in Greeley, Pennsylvania, when it crashed and tumbled down a 50-foot ravine.

The crash injured dozens of students and killed the school’s band director, Gina Pellettiere, 43, and Ferrari, 77, of Farmingdale. Pellettiere, a Massapequa resident, was the single mother of a 2-year-old boy, Joseph.

The entire community mourned the losses of Pellettiere and Ferrari while supporting their families, as well as the students who suffered physical and emotional wounds in the crash.

The Farmingdale Board of Trustees made the decision to designate May 15 — Ferrari's birthday — as "Beatrice Ferrari Day" on Monday night at village hall.

"We presented her family with the proclamation and a replica of the four larger flags that will be flying from the village flags poles below our American flag every year on her birthday May 15th," Walter Priestley, a Farmingdale Village trustee, wrote on Facebook.

The first annual "Gina Rose Pellettiere Day" was celebrated in Farmingdale Village on Nov. 17.