The Syosset Fire Department sadly announces the passing of ex-Chief and longtime Commissioner Peter Morley on Feb. 25, 2008 at the age of 76 following a brief illness.

Peter Morley was born on May 30, 1931 in Oyster Bay and grew up in Hicksville and Oyster Bay, where he attended St. Dominic's, serving as an altar boy and playing on the basketball team.

After high school, he moved to Syosset with cousins on Convent Road. A job as a landscaper at nearby Mercy Academy would lead him to his future wife Marilyn, a student at the school. The couple celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a family party last summer. Shortly after their wedding, Peter and Marilyn bought a home on Winthrop Avenue, where they would raise their two sons - Peter, Jr. and Greg.

At the age of 20, Peter joined the SFD's Engine Company #1 in July of 1951, rising to the position of Lieutenant in just a few years. In 1959, the SFD formed Engine Company #5 at a new sub-station on the rapidly growing south end of town and Peter Morley was chosen as the new unit's first Captain. Peter was one of the last two surviving charter members of Company #5 and the last charter member of the company still affiliated with the SFD.

Peter was part of a group of half a dozen Company #5 members who in the early1960s began dressing as Santa and the Keystone cops and riding through the streets of Syosset on their fire engine spreading good cheer each December. Almost half-a-century later, this tradition continues not only here in the Syosset FD, but in fire departments across Long Island.

Peter went on to serve as chief of department from 1963 to 1965, overseeing many emergencies and fires, including a serious fire at the East Nassau Hebrew Center and School on South Oyster Bay Road on March 16, 1964, where 100 children had to be evacuated.

As an ex-chief, Peter was part of the team that battled the famous Columbia Corrugated fire for days on end in October of 1965. Peter was also a leader in the formation of the Fifth Battalion Chiefs organization and served as its president.

In 1966, Peter was appointed to the Board of Fire Commissioners of the Syosset Fire District to fill the unexpired term of Willard Thompson, a position he would hold for 38 years, with many of those years as board chairman. He also served as Fire District secretary for a dozen years. In 1988, Peter received the Nassau County Firematic Award from County Executive Thomas Gulotta.

"He loved being with the guys in the firehouse, they were his second family," said his son Greg. His dedication to the welfare of his fellow firefighters was exemplified in his many years of work as a Director and current president of the Syosset Volunteer Firemen's Benevolent Association.

Peter worked for Abalene Oil in Syosset for three decades, starting as an oil delivery driver and working his way up to a position as a dispatcher. He finished his career with Petro Oil Company as a delivery supervisor, overseeing fuel oil distribution across Long Island and Queens. Peter also served as president of the Syosset Chamber of Commerce in the 1970s.

At home, his family remembers Pete as being "Father of the Year, every year." His son Greg speaks fondly of his dad attending all his baseball and other games as a kid and continuing that tradition with Greg's two children - Gregory, Jr. and Samantha. "He was my best friend," said Greg. Pete was also an avid horseshoe player and loved a good game of cards with friends.

The family welcomes expressions of sympathy via donations to the Visiting Nurse Service Hospice of Suffolk, Inc., 101 Laurel Road, East Northport, NY 11731.