A high school band director who died when a bus crashed while carrying students from New York to a band camp in Pennsylvania last week was remembered Thursday as a dedicated teacher with a zest for life.
Gina Pellettiere, who led Farmingdale High School’s marching band for more than a decade, “wasn’t just a good teacher, she was a great teacher,” Rita Padden, the school's former fine arts director, told mourners at Pellettiere's funeral in Massapequa Park on Long Island. “You hear from parents all the time: ‘Ms. P was the reason my son loved trumpet or band.’”
