Richard Brullo worked for more than 30 years as a pharmacist in the Red Hook community. Brullo, who died in August, was remembered by at a memorial lunch October 21 at Addabbo Family Health Center, where he worked.
Brullo was remembered by his coworkers for his quick wit and generosity.
“He just had this way about him that was joking, borderline sarcastic, that was just part of him,” remembers Carolyn Fortune, a Licensed Practical Nurse who worked with Brullo for more than 20 years. “But what I didn’t realize until after he passed away was that he helped so many people in the community.”
According to coworkers, Brullo took extra steps with insurance companies to fight for his patients’ access to medications they needed. He would call them if their prescriptions ran out, and If a patient could not afford to pay for their medicine, he would often pay for it himself.
“Richard even helped me because my insurance didn’t cover everything,” remembers Fortune. “In this day and age, you don’t see people who are generous benefactors to other people who might not be able to afford certain things, and to be modest about it. He never boasted about anything that he did.”
Brullo began his career in Red Hook at the South Brooklyn Health Center Pharmacy, located across from Coffey Park on Richards Street. He stayed as pharmacist when Addabbo purchased the facility in 2012 and worked through Superstorm Sandy despite power outages and the evacuation of the clinic’s first floor.
In late July, Brullo suffered from an allergic reaction to an unknown substance. He went into a coma and suffered brain damage, eventually passing away on August 7.
“Even now when I go to the pharmacy, it’s just this sense of loss,” says Fortune. “Of course there’s new people there and we welcome them, but we don’t hear him saying something crazy and funny anymore. That part of our family is gone.”
Addabbo will be placing a plaque in Brullo’s honor at the clinic’s entrance on Richards Street.
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I worked with Richie under Thriftway Pharmacies for 16 years. I will miss dearly. He would rush any script for elderly and sick Kids. He was hyper! We went TOE TO TOE on sarcasm! He loved his daughter and granddaughter and his mother.
Rest In Peace my BEAGLE FACE
Im heart broken. I didnt know till now that he passed. What a great and funny person he was to me and my sons. I remember him being the only one at the clinic after Sandy to make sure everyone who needed their meds could get to them. Will be very missed.