Robert Conroy, Jr. wasn't a politician or a celebrity and his name wasn't associated with any great discovery or invention. He was simply a man known around Massapequa for his kindness and generous heart. Two days before what would have been Robert's 35th birthday, family and friends celebrated his life at a tree planting ceremony at Brady Park last week.

Robert, who was born and raised in Massapequa, died suddenly on February 1 at age 34.

Robert's loved ones joined by Assemblyman Steven Labriola and members of the Massapequa Park Village Board, gathered for a picnic following the ceremony at which a commemorative plaque was unveiled. Through a mixture of tears and laughter, they paid tribute to the man they now refer to as "The richest man in town."

His new title, which was inscribed on the plaque, is a line lifted from the classic Christmas movie, "It's a Wonderful Life." It has nothing to do with his bank account, which most who knew him said wasn't enormous. According to his friends and family, his riches were far less tangible and much more fulfilling.

A graduate of what used to be Berner High School, he worked as a butcher and attended SUNY Oswego for two years before landing a job building movie sets. As far as his family and friends are concerned, however, he will mostly be remembered as a closet-philanthropist whose gifts to people were directed mostly to the heart.

Regulars at Sidekick's Bar and Restaurant in Massapequa Park or the now closed bar, Fortunes, might remember the sometimes boisterous, always cheerful Robert as a generous townie known for buying rounds of beer for strangers. Waitresses might remember him for his unusual habit of leaving over-abundant tips. His friends remember him as "Head," the nickname that attached itself to him when at the age of 8 he hit his head after falling off his parent's roof. He will also be remembered for his heart.

"None was bigger," said close childhood friend, Bert Baldenko.

In the eulogy Valerie McKenna delivered for her late brother Robert, she described him as "a pebble you threw in the water that would continue to ripple."

That ripple was evident when people lined up outside the Massapequa Funeral Home in the cold, February rain for the wakes held over a three day period. Depending on the source, the estimate of how many people crowded the funeral home for the wakes range from 1,000 to 3,000 .

Six months later as his sister Valerie unveiled the plaque memorializing Robert Conroy, Jr. as "the richest man in town," tears still flowed easily from the eyes of friends and family still reeling from the sudden death of someone they thought would be part of their lives for a longtime to come.

It was shortly after Conroy's death that close friends, Paul Valdini and Bill and Bert Baldenko, along with his sisters, decided they needed to do something to carry on his memory. Together they began looking for ways to raise money that would be used for helping people in Robert's name.

They began by chartering a trip to the Yankees opening day game and charging $75 per person. The trip, which took place in April, was dubbed the the First Annual Robert A. Conroy Memorial Yankee Opening Day trip.

Bert also approached Assemblyman Steven Labriola and the Massapequa Village Board about the idea of creating a public memorial for Robert. At the urging of board trustee Scott Wiss, the village board, along with Labriola, cleared the way for the first ever tree planting memorial at Brady Park.

The money raised by the Yankee opening day trip was used to buy the tree, the plaque and a park bench that Town Florist chipped in for and has been placed in front of the shop on Park Blvd. in Massapequa Park.

The next step was to establish a foundation in Robert's name that would be used primarily to help children and families in need. It was officially kicked off with raffle sales at the picnic following the tree planting ceremony.

"The foundation is a wonderful thing because Robert always liked to help people," said Robert's father and namesake. "As a result of this foundation, that can continue."

With the foundation, Robert's sisters and good friends hope to touch people's lives in a way that would reflect his spirit and generosity since touching people was something that seemed to come so naturally to him.

"He made everybody feel welcome, everybody from the mayor to somebody sleeping in the train station" said Bill, who knew him since kindergarten. "Everybody was the same in his eyes."

Paul, who met Robert in high school, called it a "special gift."

Eulogized as a "true enigma," Robert also had a reputation for being generous with his time.

"He'd have your car up on a lift if you mentioned you were having an oil leak," said Bert. "He found time for his family, found time for his friends, found time for people he didn't even know."

Robert's sister, KellyAnn Cronin, wasn't surprised at all by the large turnout at the ceremony despite the fact that it was publicized only by word-of-mouth.

"He was a magnet to people," she said.

Still, hindsight being 20/20, loved ones didn't know just how giving Robert could be until he was gone.

Lisa Riccio, Robert's girlfriend, said she knew nothing of the homeless man who professed to have spent time in Robert's apartment.

During Robert's wake, a disheveled-looking man stood staring at his casket for an hour, she recounted. The family, not knowing the man, was puzzled and anxious to see the man move on.

"All of a sudden this guy starts spewing all of these things about Robert and all he knew about Robert and his apartment," said Lisa. "Robert had allowed him to live in his apartment when he had no place to live. It was unbelievable."

It is probably his family, closest friends and girlfriend, however, who are experiencing the loss most deeply.

Jeanne Mikowski, the youngest of Robert's three sisters, remembers Robert as her protector and mentor. "It's a tragedy that someone that beautiful, loving and giving to that many people died so suddenly," she said. "I'm proud to say that he's my brother."

Lisa knew she had finally found the person she wanted to share her life with as she drove home around 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 1. By 8:30 p.m., Robert was dead.

She said the LeAnn Rimes song How Can I Live describes how she felt and still feels about him best. "You are my world, my heart, my soul."

And to a mother who continued to occasionally buy him groceries and do his laundry even when he was all grown-up, he is the son that could never be replaced.

Friends and family agree they have good reason to refer to Robert as the "richest man in town" on the Brady Park plaque.

"It has nothing to do with dollars and cents," said Bill, at the tree planting ceremony. "It has to do with the hundreds of people here today and the thousands that came to his wake. There's nothing else we could've put there."