NYPD’s Oldest Living Retired Detective Celebrates 103rd Birthday, Shares His Secret to Long Life

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The New York Police Department’s oldest living retired detective, Nicholas Calabrese, turned 103 on Feb. 21, 2020. Dozens of officers attended a lively celebration in New York’s Bronx borough in honor of the centenarian’s remarkable life and achievements.

As per CBS New York, Calabrese opened gifts at his residence, Throgs Neck Nursing Center in the Bronx, took photos with members of the NYPD, enjoyed numerous well-wishes, and even took time out to regale some fond memories from the past.

“I think about the old times,” Calabrese shared with his congregation of around 30 officers and close friends, as per the New York Post. “Bad ones, good ones ...”

Regaling one very special, unexpected delivery from his time with the NYPD, Calabrese continued, “A kid runs up to me and says, ‘My mother needs you.’ She asks me what my name is, and we delivered the baby right there.”

The young detective had been ushered into the woman’s home, responded to the emergency, and helped her give birth to her baby. The grateful woman even named her child after Calabrese, giving him the first name “Nicholas.”

On Feb. 21, military support organization Blue Irish Angel took to Twitter to share footage of the NYPD’s heartwarming rendition of “Happy Birthday” and a few kind words for the centenarian. “The NYPD’s oldest living retired detective turns 103 yrs of age,” they wrote. “God bless you Ret. Det. Nicholas Calabrese. You’re awesome!”

“I like you guys,” Calabrese chimes in at the end of the short clip from his birthday party. “See you next year!”

The NYPD’s 45th precinct also took to Facebook to share a shout-out to their loyal retired detective. “Happy 103rd birthday to retired Detective Nicholas Calabrese,” they wrote.

“A WWII combat veteran and proud retired detective, Nicholas was surrounded by members of the @NYCPDDEA @NYPDPBBronx and the 45th Precinct,” staff added. “We were all honored to celebrate with him!‬”

The 103-year-old birthday boy was born in Greenwich Village in 1917. Raised in the Bronx as a New York Yankees-loving baseball fan, Calabrese was recruited as a teen by the Chicago Cubs minor league but joined the Army when Pearl Harbor was attacked.

According to Fox 5, the young soldier was honorably discharged after being wounded in battle. He joined the NYPD in 1953, worked as a detective on the subway “pickpocket squad,” as per AP News, and retired in 1974.

Calabrese’s time with the NYPD coincided with one of New York City’s most crime-heavy periods.

At the age of 101, Calabrese was honored by The Detectives Endowment Association (DEA) for both his service to the police department and his U.S. Army combat hand-to-hand in the Pacific during World War II. The DEA’s union president, Paul DiGiacomo, joked that Calabrese was older than the union representing him and called the retired detective a “true hero.”

“[W]e are truly honored and proud to be here today,” said DiGiacomo, as per the New York Post. “To aspire to the rank of detective as a transit police officer, it was very difficult to do.”

“He’s an inspiration to us all,” added Bob Lappe, a retired officer and Throgs Neck Nursing Center volunteer, “and the stories that he has, he could go for days with some of the things that he’s seen. It’s truly incredible.”

When asked by Fox 5 for his secret to a long and healthy life, Calabrese confided that he believed the trick was “not to get married.”

“I stayed single,” he said with a smile.