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YONKERS, N.Y. Friends, family and fans alike paid their respects to "Yonkers Leprechaun" Jess Buzzutto Friday afternoon at the Whalen and Ball Funeral Home.
Buzzutto, who stood just 5 feet tall, died Wednesday at the age of 70 after a battle with illness. The retired computer programmer was remembered by Yonkers residents for decorating his Nepperhan Avenue yard with flowers and dressing in green clothing like a leprechaun.
His sister, Eileen Logiudice, said she knows she won't be the only one missing Buzzutto's charm.
"He always wanted to help people," Logiudice said. "He was such a nice person, and he's always been that way since we were kids."
Buzzutto got the leprechaun title 20 years ago by accident, Logiudice said. He bought a set of green gardening clothes to landscape his house, and someone called out him that he was a leprechaun.
"He called me and said, 'They're picking on me 'cause I'm short!' " Logiudice laughed. "And eventually, he just embraced it. He said, 'If they want me to be a leprechaun, I'll be one.' "
Since then, Buzzutto became popular enough to have his own Facebook fan page and have articles written about him by The Journal News and The New York Times.
Tori Medina, Logiudice's granddaughter and Buzzuto's great-niece, said her favorite memories of Buzzutto were of him taking her to the city to try different types of Chinese food.
"One time he made me eat goose intestines," the 14-year-old said with a grimace.
But she added that it was Buzzutto's charm and openness to trying new things that made him so likable.
"He was just a really great guy that did everything for the community," Tori said.
Buzzutto's family and close friends were joined by Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano and City Council President Chuck Lesnick at the wake earlier in the day, as well as by other residents who didn't know The Yonkers Leprechaun personally just by a daily hello as they passed by his house.
"We're going to miss him on his corner," one Yonkers resident said, adding that Buzzutto would always stand outside and wave after she beeped at him when picking her child up from school. "He had the best American flag arrangement of flowers."
The Whalen and Ball Funeral Home, 168 Park Ave., will hold additional visiting hours Friday night from 7 to 9 p.m. A funeral service will be held at the funeral home Saturday at 10 a.m. A committal service will follow at Ferncliff Chapel.
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