Joe Satriano

Trustee/Author
Susan Satriano Foundation/"In Sickness and in Health: A Memoir of Love"

More than five decades prior to becoming the author of his first book, "In Sickness and In Health: A Memoir of Love," Joe Satriano was born into a traditional Italian Catholic family and lived in Brooklyn, N.Y.

After high school, he attended Brooklyn College where he earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in math education. While there, Joe met his future wife, Susan, who was also studying to be a teacher. They moved to Oceanside, N.Y., and shared life together.

After almost 30 years as a math teacher, Joe retired from Roslyn High School to care for his wife after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. They remained a team during Susan's 13-year battle with breast cancer, bonded by love, courage and compassion through it all. Susan succumbed to the disease in 2006.

After seeing the challenges their two sons, Matthew and Justin, faced during their mother's illness, he started the Susan Satriano Memorial Scholarship Foundation in honor of his wife. The non-profit organization awards college scholarships to high school seniors, or as he refers to them, the "Silent Sufferers," who have had a parent die of cancer or who have a parent currently battling the disease. The foundation, which receives proceeds from sales of his book and accepts tax-deductible donations, has already helped 130 students across the country with scholarships totaling $130,000. Since it is a "mom and pop" organization, 100 percent of the proceeds collected go directly back to students to defray the large expenditures of a college education. His hope is that one day, as recognition of the foundation increases, and it can reach out and help every "Silent Sufferer."

Currently, Joe gives motivational and humorous book talks and is in the midst of writing his second book, a sequel to his first book. The focus of the new book is about how he and his boys are dealing with Susan's death and how they were able to move forward to lead very productive lives. Knowing that both Joe and Susan were high school math teachers, he says, "the title of the book just had to be... 'After Math: Life Without Sue.'"