Three-sport star was a born leader who captained teams and was the role model for big family success
The oldest sibling of Sachem’s dominant athletic family of the 1960s and 1970s has died.
Sachem Athletic Hall of Famer James Fabian passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on Sunday, August 16 after a long battle with cancer. He was 72.
A Lake Ronkonkoma native and the son of Frank Jr. and Bernice Fabian, he was the eldest of six children. A three-sport athlete at Sachem, he captained the football, basketball and baseball teams and played football and lacrosse at Oberlin College in Ohio.
The 1966 Sachem graduate won the Richard Van Norr Award as the top student-athlete in the school and was inducted to Sachem’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2016.
During that ceremony he was inducted with friend and teammate Joe Cipp Jr. Their plaques now hang next to other at the high school.
“Jimmy was a great high school friend, a great teammate,” said Cipp Jr., who also had the honor of Fabian serving as his best man when he married his wife Laura. “He was a born leader and I will never forget him. Our pictures are right next to each other on the HOF just like we played when he was in the backfield. He got a kick about that. My prayers and thoughts are with his family.”
Vic Scalia, another teammate, remembers his multi-sport talent too.
“He was always one of the most talented players on the field [and] court but more than that, he was always the most modest, hard working person there as well,” said Scalia, who played football and basketball with Fabian. “Always a great teammate and all around good guy. That’s how he will be remembered by those of us who shared those Sachem playing fields with him.”
After returning from Oberlin, he met his soulmate Pat after his sister Ellen secretly set them up on a first date, according to their son Billy. Married in 1971, they spent the next 49 years by each other’s side, raising three children. Although both from Lake Ronkonkoma, they took a chance in 1978 and moved with their two children, Marie and Dan (Billy would come along a few years later), to Croton-on-Hudson. They put down roots by the Hudson River, making their life together there for over 40 years. Not only did all three of their children attend Croton schools, but Pat taught at Carrie E. Tompkins Elementary School and Jim served on the school board.
After teaching and coaching at schools on Long Island for a few years after college, he found his calling in the legal field. He received his Juris Doctor in 1978 from St. John’s University School of Law. Over his long career as an attorney specializing in health care law, Fabian worked first as an associate at Condon & Forsyth and Kelley Drye, then as in-house counsel at New York Hospital, and finally as a partner at Nixon Peabody. Beloved and respected by his many colleagues, he was cherished for his wisdom, loyalty, integrity, and wit.
“As a partner, friend and the one and only social officer of the LI office at Nixon Peabody, there was no one finer,” said Dorothy Montgomery in a written digital memory capsule about Fabian’s life. “I so enjoyed working with Jim. He was humble, caring and always made time for all in the office. We were very blessed to have Jim as part of our NP family. You and our family are in our thoughts and prayers.”
Fabian was devoted to his family and friends.
“Although he worked hard his whole career, he always made time for his family and never missed games or school plays or other important moments in his children’s lives,” said his son Billy. “He was a doting Pop Pop to his four grandchildren and nothing gave him more joy later in life than watching them grow up.”
His many friends loved him for his warmth and humor. And while he had only a few years in retirement before he became ill, he made the most of them, whether that was enjoying dinners with his friends, taking vacations with his brothers and sisters, or playing golf with his buddies at Hollow Brook Golf Club.
Fabian is survived by his wife Pat; children Marie, Dan, and Billy; daughters-in-law Genie and Kate; grandchildren Maddie, Annie, Angie, and Jimmy; and dogs Yogi, Maisie, and Rosie; and siblings Ellen Graham, Mike Fabian, Ed Fabian, Patty Scaturro, and Mary McCabe and their spouses and children.
“He truly was the best big brother five siblings could have,” said Scaturro. “He took care of us and also made many lasting memories. He started it all and was a role model to all of us.”
There will be a celebration of Fabian’s life once conditions allow his many family and friends to gather together. In lieu of flowers or other gifts, the family asks that instead people make a small donation in his name to the Eye Bank of New York where he volunteered so much of his time over the last 18 years, serving in many capacities including on the board, as vice-president, and as president.