Thank You for Your Service, Mike Honan

By Katie McFadden

Last month, local resident Mike Honan asked The Rockaway Times to do a story about the holiday wreaths placed at Memorial Circle to give recognition to Flip Mullen and Legends in Valor for the effort. Three weeks ago, he followed up in a letter of gratitude for the story and continued to show appreciation for the many others that do things to support our veterans in annual ceremonies, and year-round. That was the kind of man Mike Honan was, a man who himself did many good things for the community and his country as a U.S. Navy veteran, and who wanted to make sure other do-gooders received recognition. On Saturday, January 3, Michael P. Honan died suddenly. He was 79.

Besides seeing him on the mic, presiding over the annual Memorial Day parade and Veterans Day ceremony, one of the first deep encounters The Rockaway Times had with Mike Honan was during another occasion where he was doing something good to recognize those who have been forgotten. Ironically, that occasion was a funeral.

On February 13, 2019, Honan brought The Rockaway Times along for a ride to George Werst Funeral Home in Glendale. The funeral was for Frank Lombardi who died on November 23, 2018. After no family or friends claimed his body, it was discovered that Lombardi had served in the U.S. Army in the early 1960s. Like for many indigent veterans, the Queens County American Legion, who Honan had served as a commander for from 2009-2010, took action to make sure Lombardi got the proper sendoff for someone who served his country. Fellow veterans stood before Lombardi’s flag-draped casket and said their goodbyes to a man none of them knew but had a sense of what he had gone through as a soldier. Among them was Honan, who saluted the casket in the funeral home and as Lombardi was taken to his final resting place at Calverton National Cemetery.

The act of burying indigent veterans in Queens was originally carried out by the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA). But when Queens County American Legion Adjutant Paul Schottenhamel had heard about the effort, he knew the local American Legion should get involved. When he brought the idea to then Commander Honan, he agreed and was immediately on board. Ever since, about once a month, the Queens County American Legion has continued to aide in giving a proper service and burial for indigent veterans. Honan, himself, had attended about 75 of such funerals.

The reason for holding a funeral for an unfamiliar soldier? They’re like family. Mike Honan became part of that family in the late ‘60s. Born in Brooklyn to Michael and Anne Honan on June 30, 1946, Mike Honan would go on to grow up in Springfield Gardens, Cambria Heights, Hollis, Jackson Heights and Floral Park alongside his older sister, Barbara. He attended St. Gerard Majella and Sacred Heart grammar school, Archbishop Molloy High School, and St. John’s University, where he received a BA in history and education, according to his obituary.

But in 1968, Honan joined the United States Navy in a direct commission as an officer until 1970, and was stationed in Charleston, S.C. When he returned to Queens, he received an MBA in management from St. John’s while also working for the city’s Department of Welfare and joining the Naval Reserves, where he rose to the rank of captain before retiring in 1996.

In 1975, Honan started a career as a federal probation and parole officer based out of the Eastern District of New York in Brooklyn, and he made his way to Rockaway Park in 1979, where he lived out his life and raised his family. On Oct. 23, 1982, he married the love of his life, Fran Chiodo, and together they had two daughters, Roseanne and Katie. While raising his family and working his way up to supervisor at the Eastern District, Honan dedicated his free time to supporting his community, his neighbors, and fellow veterans.

He took interest in the small park near his home, dedicated to neighbors who died in World War II, Memorial Circle. Honan and other neighbors formed the Friends of Memorial Circle in the early ‘90s, to help with the maintenance and beautification of the park. Maureen Walsh, another Friend of Memorial Circle, will always remember Honan’s dedication to the park. “Among his many achievements, he is best remembered for his dedication to Memorial Circle and was one of the founding members of the Friends of Memorial Circle. For more than thirty years he dedicated his time and resources to maintain a memorial of our local fallen heroes and ensured their sacrifices were not forgotten. His unexpected death leaves a hole in our hearts that will never heal,” Walsh said. “Rest in peace, dear friend.”

In 1997, Honan took his service to fellow veterans further by joining the American Legion and served as Commander of Rockaway’s Daniel M. O’Connell Post 272 for much of the early 2000s, but he remained a dedicated member until the end. For many years, Honan became the face of Rockaway’s Memorial Day and Veterans Day ceremonies, leading dedications for the community commemorations.

Current Daniel M. O’Connell Post Commander Brian Galarza says Honan did even more behind the scenes for the American Legion. “He was involved in so many things. He started the program called Children and Youth. He started it with Queens County and then it became a Post effort. He went to libraries and asked them what books they needed, and we’d give him a check and he’d purchase the books for the libraries in Rockaway and Broad Channel, and then he and another Legion member would go to the libraries and read to the kids,” Galarza said. He said Honan also helped open and run the “Canteen” at St. Albans Veterans Center, a place where veterans could get together to watch tv, enjoy snacks and sodas and even enjoy Super Bowl and holiday parties. The effort came to an end with the Covid pandemic, but Galarza said they had just been discussing bringing it back.

Beyond helping fellow veterans, Galarza said Honan’s service went beyond that in small, yet meaningful ways. “He would drive the retired nuns to their appointments. He did it behind the scenes. And all of his neighbors really loved him. He was the guy that would stop and ask if you needed help. He’d walk by your house and make sure the paper was picked up from in front of the house if you were away. That’s who Mike was. It’s a very big loss for the community and for the Legion,” Galarza said. “He loved his service. He was a patriot.”

Honan will be missed by many friends, neighbors, fellow veterans, his wife and daughters, his beloved grandson Riordan Francisco, his sister, Barbara Nealon, brother-in-law Richard Nealon, niece Jen (Jeremy,) and nephews Matt (Gretchen,) Chris (Kirsten) and Greg.

A wake was held at Denis S. O’Connor Funeral Home on Wednesday, January 7, where the American Legion Daniel M. O’Connell Post held a poppy ceremony. A funeral Mass is being held on Thursday, January 8 at 9:45 a.m. at St. Francis de Sales Church, followed by a burial at St. John’s Cemetery in Middle Village.

Thank you for your service to the community and the country, Mike Honan. You will be missed.