Andrew Gerard Schiavone, 95, of Williamsburg, passed away Sunday, April 3, 2022. He was born Feb. 11, 1927 in Bronx, N.Y.
He was predeceased by his parents, Andrew and Anna d’Agostino Schiavone; his daughter, Patricia Edmands; as well as the mother of his children, Marie Graefenecker; and Mary Jane Schiavone, his second wife.
He is survived by his wife, Ellen Schiavone; his daughter, Linda Mullane (Tom) of Chappaqua, N.Y.; sons, Andrew Schiavone (Melissa) of St. Helena Island, S.C., and Lyle Schiavone (Linda) of Williamsburg; son-in-law, Bob Edmands; along with nine grandchildren, Hollis Giffault, Ashley Edmands, Tommy Mullane (Angela), Kelly Shaul (Taylor), Drew Schiavone (Sarah), Chandler Schiavone, Lyle Schiavone Jr., Anna Schiavone, and Luciano Schiavone; and two great-grandchildren. He is also survived by Mary Jane’s children, Kathy Miller of Overland Park, Kansas, Maureen Sederberg (Tom) of Orem, Utah, Liz Benzoni (Drew) of Huntington, N.Y., and Terry McGovern of Greenlawn, N.Y.; nine grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren.
Andrew proudly served in both the U.S. Army and Air Force during World War II; he attended Manhattan College and worked with his father at their Nash automobile business and later Mayflower Coach charter buses and Westchester School Transit buses. In the 1960s he was appointed deputy director of the NYS Office of Transportation and handled the merger of the Long Island boroughs; he became director of the Metropolitan Transit Authority; and in the 1970s he was appointed commissioner of the New York Transit Authority. He retired from his transportation career as president of the NYC Transit Authority.
After his retirement in 1983, he joined the Executive Service Corps and served as transportation advisor in Hungary and Ukraine, and he worked as a merger consultant for the Boston Transit System and the Detroit School System.
Andrew and his first wife, Marie, had his four children. Later he married Mary Jane McGovern and included her four children in his family circle. Upon her death, he married Ellen Willis, with whom he spent the remainder of his life.
Services will take place at Nelsen Funeral Home, 3785 Strawberry Plains Road, Williamsburg, on Saturday, April 30 at 2 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family has requested donations be made in Andrew’s memory to The Christian Brothers, P.O. Box 238, Lincroft, NJ 07738-0238. Online condolences may be shared at www.NelsenWilliamsburg.com.
