The Thursday before Memorial Day weekend, I flew from my home in Jupiter, Florida, back to Oyster Bay, Long Island — the town where I grew up. Nestled about 30 miles from Manhattan, Oyster Bay is the kind of place where history and legacy run deep. It’s also a place where, each Memorial Day, residents gather to honor those who gave their lives in service. While many rush to the Hamptons or Fire Island, I spent the weekend reconnecting with lifelong friends and celebrating the life of one of their mothers, who had just passed away at 84.
She was the matriarch of a loving family and wife of 65 years to a man who happens to be a titan of New York City commercial real estate. He started the business back in 1964, when his firm had just 14 agents. Today, it’s the third-largest commercial real estate company in the world.
At a lunch in her honor at one of her favorite restaurants, Chris and Tony’s, I looked into his eyes as we spoke about his wife. At that moment, he wasn’t a real estate legend — he was a husband, father and grandfather surrounded by his people. His “who.”…