Cornelius James Fenton

Cornelius J. (Neil) Fenton, longtime resident of the North Fork, former District Governor and past president of the Riverhead Rotary, 38-year retiree of the the Suffolk County Mental Hygiene Department, recently passed away. He was 83. He was the beloved husband of Eileen Mary (Goulding) devoted father to daughters, Kelly Sadowsky (Glenn) and Kate Fenton Charpentier (Jerome) and loving grandfather of Adeline and Malone. 

Neil was a psychologist for Suffolk County mental hygiene services, Neil headed the Bureau of training and Education. He worked very closely with local corrections and law enforcement agencies sensitizing them to the issues of addiction and mental illness. Kevin Fallon, retired Suffolk Police Department deputy chief and academy instructor said Neil “inspired and worked with me to develop a core training curriculum for the police academy.” The program became a best practices training model for New York State. Neil was also instrumental in organizing a cadre of trained mental health crises responders. Trained in “critical incident stress debriefing,” mental health professionals worked along with other health, safety and fire and rescue personal in responding natural and man made disasters in our region including floods, fires and plane crashes such as the TWA flight 800 & Avianca crash off Suffolk shores. “When the planes hit the World Trade Center towers in 2001, Suffolk and Nassau Counties sent two bus loads of mental health crises responders to Manhattan” said Thomas MacGilvray who was the Director of Suffolk Mental Hygiene services at the time. “We had teams that were already trained, experienced and ready to go, said Mr MacGivray”, adding that “This would not have happened without Neil’s work. ”Following his retirement in 2007, Neil devoted much of his time to helping alcohol and drug addicted individuals enter into recovery. He worked with an incarcerated population at the Suffolk County DWI program, Mr. MacGilvray said, but “his efforts to help those afflicted with substance abuse conditions, went well beyond that. He touched many lives over the years.” 

Neil was a family man who loved playing with his two granddaughters, Adeline and Malone. He was smitten by the North Fork and its beauty. His favorite place on this earth is the family beach bungalow on the LI Sound, where he passed away peacefully, surrounded by family. He loved to spend time with family, read, meditate and swim. During his retirement, Neil and Eileen were avid travelers to many countries and spent time at the family cottage in Ireland. Neil was an inspiring storyteller and entertainer. He made friends every where he went and his infectious laughter was contagious. Neil impacted so many lives during his time on this earth. He is a legend and will never be forgotten. “More than anyone I’ve ever known, Neil had the uncanny ability to see the humor in everything human, and to then express it wisely and fearlessly” longtime friend and former Riverhead Town Supervisor Phil Cardinale said.

May He Rest in Eternal Peace