Belle Vitrofsky has a foot-high stack of letters children at Tamarac Elementary School sent after her husband, Irving, died in January.

“School won’t be the same without Popeye,” scrawled one youngster on a piece of yellow construction paper. “He brought joy to the entire school.”

Irving Vitrofsky, who died on Jan. 24 at 70, was called “Popeye” by the city’s children because of the British-style sailor’s hats he wore.

Irving Vitrofsky worked as a volunteer at the school since leaving the Bronx for Tamarac 13 years ago. He was also active in city affairs, most notably as a member of the city’s parks and recreation committee.

To honor his work, city employees took up a collection and bought a park bench, which was dedicated on Saturday in Veterans Park on Southgate Boulevard at University Drive.

“Irving used to sit here in the park and watch the kids water-ski,” said Belle Vitrofsky, who works in the City Clerk’s office. “They all knew him, the kids who were 5 when we came here are 18 now.”

Irving Vitrofsky, who ran a novelty jewelry business with his wife in New York City, was a fixture at the city’s parks and recreation program, where he did everything from helping children with projects to taking them on field trips, said Lauren Scott, the city’s recreation services coordinator.

“Whenever kids were around, he was around,” Scott said. “They really miss him.”

The children in the recreation program made a special wreath

out of individual hearts and put Vitrofsky picture in the middle. The framed artwork is on display at the recreation building next to the elementary school.

His attitude toward children was unique in a city dominated by retirees, Scott said.

Belle Vitrofsky agreed.

“I even got to liking them myself. What could I do?” she said. “I was married to the man for 45 1/2 years.”

Irving Vitrofsky was never without one of his many unique sailor’s hats, which were sent to him by the Sephardic Home for the Aged in Brooklyn.

“When we came down here the sun was so hot, he just started wearing them,” Belle Vitrofsky said. “He had a hat for every outfit.”

The Vitrofskys were fixtures at the city’s senior citizen dances, and Irving Vitrofsky was one of the main backers of a new senior center and recreation center for the city.

But working with children remained his main interest.

During the summer, he was active in the recreation program.

When school was in session, he worked in the cafeteria and with the after- school program.

He was known for one special skill.

“Every day he’d take a clean handkerchief, and then go into the school and ask, ‘Who has a shaky tooth?”‘ his wife said.

“The kids would come up and he’d shake the tooth around and say, ‘That’s not ready yet.’ Then the kid would walk away and all of a sudden turn around and say, ‘Popeye, you pulled my tooth!”‘

After he died, one little girl wrote: “Dear Mrs. Vitrofsky, I love Popeye. I’ll remember him. He pulled my first tooth.”