Brian J. Felitto, age 82, passed away on Monday, October 27, 2025. A Funeral Mass will be held at St. Mary's Cathedral, Ogdensburg, NY on Saturday, November 1, 2025 at 12:00PM. Calling hours will be held on Saturday, November 1, 2025 from 9:00AM to 11:30AM at Frary Fuenral Home, Ogdensburg.
Brian was born on May 18, 1943 in New Hartford, NY to the late Joseph and Margaret Felitto.
He earned a bachelor's degree from King's College in Pennsylvania, a master's degree from St. Lawrence University and did post masters graduate work at the University of Buffalo.
Felitto is survived by Joan his wife of 61 years; his daughter, Kristen (Peter) Marek of Littleton, MA; his son, Erik of Manhattan, NY; and four grandchildren, Bryan and Gabriella Felitto and Alexander and Nathalie Marek; his brother, Gary Gilot of South Benda and his sister Ellen Morton of Colorado Springs, Colorado and his brother in law Richard Tarnowski of Utica, NY.
Brian and Joan moved to Canton, NY directly out of college as newlyweds in 1965. Brian assumed his first position at the State University of New York at Canton where he served for 35 years.
As a facilities planning coordinator and purchasing agent he and his colleagues were involved in the planning and construction of 14 new buildings of the new Canton campus over 7 years. At this time, Brian also coached both the college Cross Country and Freshman Basketball Teams
Over the span of 3 decades, he held several senior management positions culminating in the position of Chief of Staff and Chief Planning and Governmental Affairs officer working with President E.W. MacArthur
Felitto initiated several Federal and State grants that funded many innovative programs. He authored The Handbook for Sponsored Research, a guidebook for grantsmanship used at several SUNY institutions.
Notably, Brian was appointed by both Governors Carey and Cuomo to two statewide commissions on training and economic development and was a charter member of the St. Lawrence County Private Industry Council.
Felitto and a colleague together founded The Leadership Institute, which over a two-decade span offered annual in residence weekly sessions serving the executive development needs for Fortune 500 companies and various healthcare organizations throughout the Northeast.
From 1992 to 1993, Felitto was selected by the Board of Trustees to serve as interim President of Mater Dei College and later served on the Board of Trustees.
Upon retirement, he continued his consulting work with The Leadership Institute and coordinated the college’s reaccreditation effort with The Middle States Accrediting organization having worked on several previous accreditation committees over a 3-decade span.
For over 30 years, Felitto also served on The Board of Directors of Claxton Hepburn Medical Center retiring in 2024. He also was a trustee of St. Mary’s Cathedral in Ogdensburg.
Brian and Joan established The Brian and Joan Felitto Family Endowed Scholarship at SUNY Canton to help talented North Country students with their educational expenses at the college
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to with the Felitto Family Endowed Scholarship program at SUNY Canton c/o College Foundation, St. Mary’s Cathedral, or The Claxton Hepburn Medical Center Foundation.
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