Fallen Finest Jonathan Diller is being honored through a scholarship, with its first fundraiser set for Wednesday, eight months after he was killed approaching two criminals in a parked car in Queens.
The new Detective Jonathan Diller Scholarship Fund will benefit students at the “American hero’s” high-School alma mater, St. Mary’s in Manhasset, LI, who exhibit the fallen NYPD cop’s same academic rigor and athleticism and have aspirations for a career in public safety, organizers said.
“I consider him some sort of an American hero. He made the ultimate sacrifice for the country, and he’s not going to be forgotten by the NYPD or St. Mary’s family. We made sure of that,” said Patrick Welsh, the school’s athletic director, Diller’s former teacher and an ex-cop, to The Post.
Diller’s widow, Stephanie, burst into tears when she learned of the effort, a supporter said.
The first fundraiser for the scholarship will kick off Wednesday at the tragic married dad’s favorite watering hole, Mulcahy’s Pub & Concert Hall in Wantagh on Long Island — where Diller and his now-widow, Stephanie, spent a night dancing shortly before he was heinously killed in the line of duty in March.
The effort’s goal is to raise $100,000 to annually support at least one junior or senior student at St. Mary’s for years to come.
Previous raffles in Diller’s name have historically scored record-setting collections, so it’s possible several students per year could qualify for scholarship money, organizers said.
The scholarship has already raised more than $26,000.
Wednesday’s event is an opportunity to pay homage to the slain cop and to his young widow and the 1-year-old son he left behind in Massapequa Park, LI, supporters said.
“This family has suffered a tragedy that so many can identify with. This family has the compassion of so many residents who feel deeply,” said Joseph Saladino, the Town of Oyster Bay supervisor.
“We’ve had it with the laws in this state that have made things more dangerous. This family has lost their loved one at a very young age because of the dangerous situation that has been rising in the city of New York and in other cities across the country. So as a means of showing our support, our passion, our tremendous amount of care and how this has hit the hearts of all of our residents, this event and this scholarship is a great way to show you care,” Saladino said.
The scholarship fund gained steam this past summer, several months after the three-year department veteran approached two suspicious men in a car parked at a bus stop in Far Rockaway and was fatally shot by the criminals.
“I wanted to start a scholarship fund so that the detective’s name would live on forever and have a legacy,” said organizer Larry Weinberger, who used his connections as the president of MGD Investments to gather supporters and sponsors.
Saladino said Diller’s widow told them she wanted the funds to go to students at St. Mary’s, where Diller graduated from in 2010.
“Jonathan always believed in the importance of education and wanted to give back to the next generation. This scholarship fund will help keep his legacy alive and offer new opportunities to deserving high school students,” Stephanie told The Post in a statement.
At St. Mary’s, Diller was known as a hardworking student and a team player, according to Welsh, who was Diller’s head lacrosse coach for all four years, as well as his law teacher.
Welsh, who served 20 years in the NYPD, remembered Diller’s fascination with his stories from the force — and was not surprised when Diller joined the department himself after a short career at Maritime College.
“He was a great kid. He was just a regular kid who found his way, his correct calling to be a police officer. Unfortunately, it took his life, but it’s a bigger picture,” Welsh said.
“The kids on my team, we honor him. They all know about it. They understand. The tentacles go out, and it’s great to see because [the scholarship is] going to have a big effect,” he said.
“His legacy is going to grow,” Welsh said. “It’s going to be an amazing thing.”
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