YPD mourns passing of one of its own

Services are pending for Capt. Ken Centorame, a 34-year department veteran, who died Saturday from leukemia.

By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.

VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER

YOUNGSTOWN — There is a solemn mood at the Youngstown Police Department this week.

As you get off the elevator on the second floor of the police building, you turn left to see the reason behind the long faces and quiet atmosphere.

Outside the chief’s office, near the roll-call room, hangs a plaque remembering the life and career of Capt. Ken Centorame.

Centorame died Saturday after a long battle with leukemia. Services are pending at Fabrizio Funeral Home on Indianola Avenue.

Centorame was hired into the department in January 1975 and moved to the rank of sergeant in May 1981. He became a lieutenant in January 1988, a captain in 1996 and was appointed chief of detectives in January 2006.

Police Chief Jimmy Hughes said Centorame received numerous awards and accolades during his law-enforcement career. He was most recently awarded the department’s highest service award, “Excellent Police Duty Award,” in 2009.

“He was one of those guys who showed a lot of dedication to what he was doing and took it seriously,” Hughes said. “We went through the ranks together and worked together pretty much most of my career. Everyone appreciates his service and dedication to the people of Youngstown.”

Patrolman George Bayer said Centorame was a sergeant when he joined the force. He remembers Centorame as pleasant to work for, so much so that those under him pooled money to purchase a gift for the man.

Hughes said Centorame’s professional record can speak for itself, but it is the personality and friendship that Hughes says many people will miss the most.

“This will be a hard one for us to get over,” he said.

Detective Sgt. Delphine Baldwin-Casey remembers personal, touching stories about Centorame that she says she will never forget and cause her to stop in reflection at the plaque outside the chief’s office honoring his life and career.

Baldwin-Casey says it was early in her career while she was in the hospital delivering her child that she received a visit from Centorame she will never forget.

“That was really a big thing to me back then. I am a pregnant woman with a baby and to look up and see him standing there, that meant a lot to me,” she said. “He was one of the very few supervisors that would do that at that time.”

Baldwin-Casey said the examples of gender sensitivity and kindness are virtually endless when it comes to Centorame and his wife Sue, a former police officer with whom she has remained friends.

Hughes said the department eventually will fill Centorame’s position as chief of detectives, but Centorame, the man, he said, cannot be replaced.

jgoodwin@vindy.com