Many Niagara County residents recognized Angelo Sarkees by his nickname — “The Can Man.”
Sarkees earned the moniker while working for more than a decade to gather up as many recyclable cans and bottles and pieces of scrap metal as he could to exchange for money he then used to support local charities of his choice.
Over the course of his years-long charity drive, Deposits 4 Food, Sarkees, with help from some of his friends and local business owners, collected more than one million recyclable containers.
The deposit collected on the cans and the bottles and the money he made from selling the scrap metal generated more than $110,000 to help support services for the needy offered by Community Missions of Niagara Frontier, Inc. and three county food pantries, including Heart, Love & Soul in Niagara Falls, the Wilson Community Food Pantry and Farmers Market and the Care-n-Share pantry in Ransomville.
In the process, the retired water engineer did his part to help the environment, too.
In the wake of his death on Saturday, friends and colleagues of Sarkees recalled him as a man who used the simple act of collecting deposits from returned recyclables to make a big difference for other people who needed help.
“He was just an amazing man and he was a great example that I use on a regular basis on how one person can make such a significant difference in many people’s lives,” said Community Missions Executive Director Robyn Krueger.
Sarkees, a Niagara Falls native who lived in Lewiston, passed away on Saturday at Niagara Hospice House in Lockport. He was 76.
The graduate of Bishop Duffy High School, known to many of his friends as “Andy,” earned his bachelor’s degree from Niagara University and later a master’s degree in chemical engineering from the University at Buffalo. He worked for 30 years as a water engineer for the New York State Department of Conservation in Buffalo until his retirement.
In August 2013, Sarkees started his charitable journey, which he supported through Deposits for Food, an organization he founded.
Janet Hoffman, who runs the Wilson Community Food Pantry and Farmers Market, said Sarkees made regular stops at her food pantry, bringing funds to support operations each time.
“He gave us probably $1,000 a year,” Hoffman said. “That’s a lot of bottles and cans. He came at least twice, sometimes three times per year. It was just very important to him that he did this and that he did this for the community.”
For his tireless charitable work, Sarkees received the 2023 Outstanding Philanthropist award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Western New York Chapter.
It was a big honor for Sarkees, and his lifelong friend Joe Sbarbati said it was richly deserved.
“He was a fine individual who cared about people and did what he did to help people that were in need,” Sbarbati said.
Sbarbati, who worked for Community Missions for 40 years before his retirement in December, met Sarkees in kindergarten. The two enjoyed a friendship that lasted more than 70 years. They loved to play golf together and Sbarbati said they tried to play at Sarkees’ favorite spot — Whirlpool Golf Course in Ontario — at least a half a dozen times each year.
Sbarbati recalled one occasion, as they were rushing to make a tee time in Canada when Sarkees spied some scrap metal on the side of the road and just couldn’t resist.
“We stopped and he had to pick up the scrap metal,” Sbarbati recalled. “I said, ‘Andy, first of all, we are in Canada, second of all we’re going to be late for our tee time.’ He said I gotta get this.”
Sbarbati described Sarkees as a human “ATM machine” for how often he had a check in his hand, ready to donate to Community Missions throughout the years.
He added that Sarkees was one of the “most compassionate” and “caring” men he’s ever met and said it was an honor to be able to call him a friend for so many years.
“The world was definitely a better place because Angelo was in it, that I can assure you. He just really cared about people,” Sbarbati said.
In addition to his wife of 30 years, Linda C. (Grochala), Sarkees is survived by his daughter, Jennifer (Peter Eisenhauer) Sarkees; his step-daughters, Tina (Michael) Mahowish and Carrie (Jesse Goldberg) Chilberg, six grandchildren and four siblings.
Visitation will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. June 30 at M.J. Colucci & Son Niagara Funeral Chapel, 2730 Military Road, Niagara Falls. Interment and Committal Prayers will be held at 11 a.m., Monday, July 1, at St. Joseph’s Cemetery, 3806 Pine Ave., Niagara Falls.