Loved ones, public officials and dozens of NYPD officers, active and retired, marked the end of watch for former NYPD Chief of Department and Emergency Management Commissioner Joseph Esposito during his funeral at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Tuesday.

Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban were among those who praised Esposito’s devotion, not only to public service, but to his children and late wife of 52 years.

“He was the perfect chief of department in a diversified city like this,” Adams said.

“He led from the front,” Caban added. “He was about the mission and importance of public safety. More than that, he cared about his people.”

The Brooklyn native joined the NYPD at 18 years old in 1968.

“Joe truly was in love with his wife,” retired NYPD Captain Rory Capra said. “Married for 50 years. And they were everywhere.”

Esposito, or “Espo,” as his colleagues called him, spent more than four decades in the NYPD, with 12 years as the chief of department — the longest anyone has held that position.

During that time, he helped lead the city through the Sept. 11 terror attacks. His family believes he contracted cancer while serving at the World Trade Center sight.

“When my mom left us, when his heart gave out, my father lost his heart too,” said Esposito’s daughter, Eve. “And that cancer that was lurking in his system, hanging around since 9/11, I’m sure, decided it's time. Let’s send this man home to his wife. Knowing how horribly he missed his Bella and that they’re together again is one of the things that has gotten us through this very difficult week.”

Esposito also served as the commissioner of the city’s Office of Emergency Management starting in 2014 — a post he famously refused to leave after being fired by the deputy mayor for former Mayor Bill de Blasio until he heard directly from de Blasio himself.

Esposito was serving as deputy commissioner of enforcement at the city’s Department of Buildings at the time of his passing, when cancer took his life on Jan. 8 of this year.  

Current Emergency Management Commissioner Zachary Iscol lauded his leadership.

“He taught a whole generation of emergency managers to help people above all else,” Iscol said.