Thousands gathered in Yonkers Monday night to remember Leonard Spano, who died Sunday. He was 88.

Those paying respects to Spano flooded the Sinatra Memorial Home on Yonkers Avenue Monday.

Spano, the father of Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano, served as a county legislator for 22 years and Westchester County clerk from 1994 to 2005. He had 16 children, 42 grandchildren and 18 great-grandchildren.

MORE: Longtime Westchester public servant Leonard Spano dies at 88 

His family says he had the most inspiring love with his wife, Josephine, and that they will miss seeing him sitting on a Long Island porch drinking his favorite wine at family gatherings.

"He's with us through every memory, he's with us through everything he's touched," says his oldest son, Nick Spano. "We're all that much better for you, Dad. We really are."