MARTIN DeMEO: A Sting That Did Not
Repel
The
bumblebee caught her eye.
It was Halloween, 1982, and Martin DeMeo, dressed as a
bee, was buzzing around a friend's Halloween party until
he saw Joan, the future Mrs. DeMeo, who, you could say,
was stung at first sight.
She had dressed as "Joan," she said, because she had
come straight from work. Nonetheless, her outfit was a
success. And she thought Mr. DeMeo, who friends called
Marty, was "pretty funny."
She learned that the jovial bumblebee was in love with
nature, and he introduced her to the joys of camping and
hiking and long vacations next to the sea.
After his wife, his two children, Kristen, 16, and
Nicholas, 14, and the great outdoors, what Mr. DeMeo, who
was 47 and a New York City firefighter, liked most was
baseball.
"He would have been very happy right now," Mrs. DeMeo
said Saturday, referring to the Yankees' successful fight
to get into the World Series. "I'm really hoping they do
it for us this year. It would have meant a lot to Marty,
and we need it really bad."
.
