In Memory of One From the Greatest Generation

IN HONOR OF MY FATHER

Dad was a soft spoken man with an iron constitution tempered with generosity, compassion and humor. His character was forged in the home of Italian immigrants during the Great Depression. He learned at an early age how to face challenges and adversity and how a father provides and protects his family. He also learned what made this country great: freedom, security and opportunity for those willing to work hard for it.

His courage, endurance and perseverance would be tested as a munitions specialist loading bombs on B-17’s during World War II. His Squadron flew in the great Allied offenses of the D-Day invasion and The Battle of The Bulge. Dozens of men Dad served with never returned from their air missions over Germany. He witnessed firsthand the evil of tyranny and the high price of freedom.

Driven by the greater cause to free Europe from fascism, Dad overcame fear and doubt to fulfill his duty to his country. The country that gave his parents the hope of a better future for their children. He returned from the war with an intense devotion to God and his family.

On Oct 6, 1947, a day much like today, surrounded by family and friends here at this very church, he married Loretta Shea, the young woman who stole his heart with a wink of her eye. Their love for each other, and their faith in God would be their strength in times of tribulation and the joy in times of triumph in the years to come.

Faith and classical family values were foundational and nonnegotiable in our household. Every Sunday was a day of worship without exception. Respect and discipline guarded our home. Anything you wanted had to be worked for and earned. We were taught personal responsibility and accountability. Some of us had to learn those lessons the hard way and more than once. The closest thing to immediate gratification often took the form of Dilly bars from Dairy Queen during the summer.

Dad’s work ethic demonstrated tenacity, dedication and strength. He worked on his feet for 60 hours and more every week for nearly 30 years to provide for Ma and my 11 brothers and sisters. He worked hard because he watched his mother and father work hard for their family during the Great Depression. He worked hard because of the ultimate sacrifice his fellow soldiers made to protect our freedom. He worked hard so his kids could go to private school. He worked hard because he loved his wife and his family.

Dad spent what little free time he had working in the garden or working in the kitchen with Ma. Each of us have special memories of Dad’s pizza made from scratch, home made tomato sauce and fresh vegetables from the garden. Family meals were a sacred time. All the kids knew to be seated and quiet, waiting on Dad to say Grace. He modeled humility and gratitude toward God with devotion and reverence.

Holidays were special occasions because Dad had the day off. Some how every Christmas was filled with presents, every birthday celebrated with cake and ice cream. We never lacked for anything we needed growing up. We had a hard working, God fearing father who loved our mother. He loved us. These memories now will become holy ground.

Dad was blessed with the strength of his youth in his retirement years. He visited Marsha and Chris in Colorado. There he climbed the 300 + steps of the Sacred Heart Shrine like no flatlander could. He visited Theresa and Darrell in New York City. At the age of 67, he climbed the 357 steps to the top of the Statue of Liberty, and visited Ellis Island where his parents first began their American dream in 1903. He stayed with Kathy and me for several weeks in California. He hiked through Sequoia and Yosemite national parks, spent a blistering Fourth of July at Disneyland, and walked the Golden Gate bridge carrying his grandson Joey. At Universal Studios, Erika clung to Grampy for dear life as we rode through the King Kong attraction. He calmed her by singing, "you’re a big girl now." On several occasions, we heard him say quietly to himself, “ I wish Loretta could be here to see this.”

He explored Rome and his father’s hometown in Italy with Chip in the late nineties. He rototilled his garden well into his seventies. He never tired of his grandkids climbing all over him. Over the last few weeks of his life, those who witnessed Dad’s strength and endurance said with the utmost of respect that his will to live was “remarkable.”

Dad’s life was remarkable. He married a remarkable woman and raised a remarkable family against remarkable odds during a remarkable time in our country’s history. Dad was a man’s man. He modeled what a real man is, a real husband and a real father. Dad was not surrounded by the trappings of worldly success. His legacy cant be hung on a wall, or displayed in a frame. There are no trophy cases for what he accomplished in this life because his legacy is written in the hearts of his 12 children and 13 grand children.

The success of Dad’s life was revealed in the joy he took in being the quiet patriarch in the lives of his adult children and in the lives of his grand children. The success of Dad’s life was revealed by the love and sacrifice demonstrated by his family as his health began to decline.

By the way he lived and who he was, he taught me how to honor God, love my wife, and be a father to my children. It is a legacy that will challenge me for the rest of my life.

Tonight when you sit down for dinner, Give thanks to God for the food on your table, the country you live in and for the privilege of knowing my father, one of the unsung heroes who demonstrated the qualities that made this nation great…family, humility, sacrifice, honor, dedication, and perseverance undergirded with faith, hope and love.

From Psalm 91
14"Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he knows my name.
15When he calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and honor him.
16With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation."