His face may not be famous, but his tune certainly is, especially for regulars of St. Rose of Lima's Roman Catholic Church in Massapequa.

Thirty years ago, William Kring had just brushed himself off after an east-coast tour of Holidays on Ice, when the appeal of seasons convinced the organist to settle in Huntington, after 12 long years of sunshine living in Hollywood. As fate would decide, an evening of coffee at a Howard Johnson's led to a 30-year career as St. Rose's music director.

While drinking his coffee, he met St. Rose choir member Carol Maloof. "She was on the lookout for a music director," said Kring, who soon found himself applying for the job. Needless to say, he was hired.

That was the genesis of a 30-year career with the church, and during his tenure, Kring helped build one of the most respected church music programs on Long Island, with a fan base that includes, well, Pope John Paul II. And if that's not a ticket to paradise, what is?

Besides preparing the music for every church event known, he also created and directed St. Rose's Christmas and spring concerts, which are major choral works with professional soloists and a 30- to 50-member choir, said Choir President Jean Maglione. He also has orchestrated music presented at church-sponsored concerts and Mass.

Before Kring ¬ now a Massapequa resident ¬ joined St. Rose's in 1970, the church's music program left much to be desired. "There was no set direction or programs, and the choir was very small," said Maglione.

Now, after three decades behind the organ, Kring, 80, is stepping down, but not slowing down. He just bought a swanky apartment in a fashionable section of New York City and plans to continue writing and performing his music, and perhaps find the time to travel. Africa, Australia and Alaska come directly to his mind.

"It feels good to retire" after devoting 30-years worth of weekends and holidays to church services, he said.

To give a good understanding of how long 30 years is, Kring remembers when Merrick Road, on which St. Rose's sits, was a two-laned street flanked by maples. He also remembers what Massapequa looked like before the Sunrise Mall was built, and has seen first-hand how the town grew in both population and affluence.

"There is no place like it," Kring said of Massapequa. "It's beautiful and for all its growth, people still know one another."

Kring was born and raised in Michigan. He attended piano and other keyboard instrument lessons as a child. He went to the University of Michigan, and was in the service, playing the organ alongside Army chaplains in Texas. After the service, he made his way to California, where he lived for 12 years, attended the Los Angeles Conservatory and played his instruments in various movies. He has also performed in musical theater productions such as Annie Get Yor Gun, Gypsy, Oklahoma, and Carousel, and did summer stock work, appearing with the likes of Ginger Rogers, Edie Adams, Jane Powell and Gordon MacRae.

He carries with him the famously ingrained midwestern reserve and distaste for self-promotion, but there is no hiding from his obvious avuncular nature. Maglione helps fill in the blanks on a career filled with many successes.

Of those successes, none comes closer than the invitation received by St. Rose's choir to play for the Pope in 1987. Kring helped organize the trip, and of course the music, which was sung by the 37-member choir for the Pope and broadcasted over Italian radio.

"Nothing has been able to top that," said Kring. "We started out in northern Italy and Lake Maggiore, and traveled through Florence, Milan, Rome, Siena and Pizza. We even sang at a special concert at St. Ignatius [Cathedral] in Rome and St. Peter's for Mass."

Kring even had the opportunity to shake the papal hand. "It was all very exciting," he added.

Not bad for a music director and an organ player, who made his way from Hollywood to New York to the Vatican and back again.