Former Seaport Diner Co-Owner, 'A People Person,' Mourned By Port Jefferson Station Community

PORT JEFFERSON STATION, NY — Michael Lampitelli was charismatic.

"If I have to choose words, I'd say that he was just a people person," his son Brandon Lampitelli told Patch following his sudden death this week. "Animals gravitated to him. Children loved him. It's like that inner thing that people can't see."

He had it.

Lampitelli, a 61-year-old former Middle Island resident, was part-owner of the Seaport Diner in Port Jefferson Station for many years after having worked his way up at 15 years old as a dishwasher, before graduating to other roles such as line cook. He sold his house and retired several years ago, but many in the community mourned his loss as they comforted his surviving family members.

They remember seeing him always working at something inside the diner from behind the cash register to plumbing.

Brandon described his father as "the typical Italian" who was covered in tattoos and an avid motorcycle rider.

"Everybody always joked he looked like an extra from "The Sopranos," and he had this hard look on his face," he said. "But no matter what, people loved him, and they gravitated to him. He wasn't scary. He thought he was, but he wasn't."

Lampitelli, who had been living in Myrtle Beach with his wife, Corinne, unexpectedly fell ill recently but was able to muster the strength to attend the wedding of his daughter, Serena, and give her away. He went into the hospital a short time later, and it was believed he had an infection, but doctors later learned he developed sepsis and had a blood clot that would have required the amputation of his left arm, which was dominant.

It was the arm "he lived by," and by which he built "his empire," Brandon said.

Ultimately, after learning Michael would never return to his previous self, the family did not move forward with the surgery.

In another tragic turn, they do not have the funds to transport his remains back to New York to be interred with those of his parents, so a GoFundMe page has been started to help with the cost.

Many have come forward with memories to share with Lampitell's family.

"They're just funny stories, and they're nice to hear," Brandon said. "He was a good man."

Corinne went through his papers this week, and found a collection of 'thank you' cards from his donations to St. Jude's Children's Hospital. It was then that she questioned who else is going to give to them every year.

"I said, 'There's plenty of people,'" Brandon explained.

His father would say that if his kids were in the same situation as the pediatric patients at the hospital, he would want "somebody to care" as much as he did, he said.

One woman wrote in a social media post, which featured a photo of Lampitelli, that she was challenged in her words and could not fathom the reality of his death.

She noted how some people can "come into your life and end up shaping it in ways you would never expect."

The two worked opposite shifts, but when their paths did cross, they bonded.

"Not many people can say they have a great relationship with their boss, but Mike was more than that," she wrote. "I would always come in the kitchen and vent about my life, nd he would always just listen and never judge."

In the GoFundMe, organizer Julian Roland described how Michael walking his daughter down the aisle was "a moment of pure joy before his unforeseen and rapid decline."

"During what is normally the most magical time of year — a season spent with family, friends, and festive traditions — any contribution, no matter the amount, will help lighten the weight of this incredibly heavy time," Roland wrote. "Thank you for taking the time to read their story, and please consider sharing this fundraiser and keeping the Lampitelli family in your thoughts and prayers.

So far, the fundraiser has collected more than $1,700.

Brandon imagines that his father's remains will be cremated and a service will be held sometime in the spring.

"Everybody enjoyed him, and if he didn't enjoy them, there was really no in between, but those, realistically, were people that probably weren't ... didn't have anyone's best interest in mind, and he scoped it out from a mile away," he said. "I know that he's being heavily discussed. I've had people reach out I haven't heard from since I was in my teens, and I'm going to be 37."

If there is one lesson in his father's death, Brandon would have it be a promotion for local businesses and people getting to know their neighbors, and who's around them because they might never know what kind of positive influence somebody might have on their life.

"I can honestly tell you, there's been so many small businesses that he's become friends with these people, and he's given them startup money," he said, adding that he was paid back countless times.

"Always support each other, always support your community, always support local businesses — you might find the relationship of a lifetime."