TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2005
My Uncle Joe's Obituary and A Few More Reflections
My Uncle Joe was buried today in the same King of Prussia Catholic cemetary where my mom has been buried since 1991. He rests alongside my grandmother and many of the aunts, uncles, and friends who brought so much happiness and meaning to my life in Pennsylvania.
I wish I could have been there...kids, job, planes. I wish I could also have been at my uncle's 80th birthday the month before, when he was joined by generations of loving relatives and friends whose lives were better and lighter for his being with them. I hope the family who loved him so remembered that celebration even today and the closure it had to help bring. But I will see them soon enough when I come back to Bridgeport and my dad in May, paying them the attention they deserve. I've enclosed his obituary as printed in the Norristown, PA "Times Herald":
Joseph Pizza Sr. Joseph A. ``Joe'' Pizza, Sr., age 80, of Bridgeport, died peacefully in Temple University Hospital, Philadelphia on Wednesday, March 23, 2005 surrounded by his loving family.
Born in Bridgeport on Feb. 18, 1925, he was a son of the late John and Elmerinda (Pullo) Pizza. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Concetta ``Connie'' (Marinari) Pizza; a son, Joseph A. Pizza, Jr. and his wife Jennifer of Dushore; two daughters: Theresa Wagner and her husband Robert J. of Bridgeport and Sandra Griffith and her husband Jerome of Bridgeport; seven grandchildren: Daniel and Michael Pizza, Mary Jo and Amanda Wagner, Marita, Jerry and Michael Griffith; a brother, Albert J. Pizza of Bridgeport and many nephews, nieces and cousins.
He was preceded in death by a sister, Carmella Rocchino and a brother, Samuel Pizza. Joe was a member of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Bridgeport where he was an annual Feast Volunteer Worker. He and his family took joy in serving the parish at the tomato pie and meatball sandwich stand each year. He was also involved in community associations such as the Italian American War Veteran Club of Clifton Heights Post 16 for 41 years. After graduating from Bridgeport High School, class of 1943, Joe honored his country and his family by becoming a U.S. Army Veteran of WWII, serving in the 78th Infantry Division of Germany. He was the recipient of multiple medals, most notably the Purple Heart Medal. He actively supported the VFW Post 840.
A lifelong resident of Bridgeport, Joe owned and operated ``Joe's Auto Body Shop'' for approximately 30 years. In addition to his ``Purple Heart," Joe also had a heart of gold; bestowing friendship, generosity, and humor upon everyone that crossed his path or came in contact with him. As some of his hobbies, he enjoyed gardening and taking care of pets and stray animals.
Relatives and friends are invited to his funeral from The Bacchi-Courtney Funeral Home and Crematory, Ltd., 805 DeKalb Street (Route 202), Bridgeport, PA on Tuesday, March 29, 2005 at 9:20 a.m. followed by his Funeral Mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, 502 Ford St., Bridgeport, PA at 10 a.m. His viewing will be Monday evening 6 to 9 p.m. and Tuesday morning 8:30 to 9:20 a.m., both at the funeral home. Interment will be in St. Augustine Cemetery, Upper Merion Township. Arrangements are by The Bacchi-Courtney Funeral Home and Crematory Ltd.
I've written much here as well of Terri Schiavo and her long, slow fade from life. You see the list of well wishers sold to a conservative direct marketing firm. Rev. Jesse Jackson, who many have seen as being an opportunist, visits the family and speaks some rare truth calling Terri's death "immoral" and "unnecessary." Finally, they speak even before she's breathed her last of an autopsy they claim will definitively reveal her condition and justify Michael's decision to end her life - and define his.
And then there's the New York Times/Newsweek's renowned Anna Quindlen, who wraps her alignment with the culture of death in honeyed, reasonable prose. There is no culture of life, she says, only the culture of your life, and of mine. I prefer Peggy Noonan's columns all week in the Wall Street Journal and would place her leading question to Ms. Quindlen: Did God create life, or didn' t He? Are you a child of God, or aren't you?
The Terri Schiavo circus, with its activist clowns and celebrity ringmasters, soon will pack and leave for another televised showdown between red and blue states, between government branches, between cultures of life and death. (One man, who obviously has missed the whole point, even threatened members of Schiavo's extended family in Philadelphia.) I only hope enough good people prepare themselves and their loved ones for the ineviatable end no matter how soon it may arrive.
Life should end as a gentle walk between sleep and eternity, so we still see the shadows of what a wonderful person did for everyone who knew him. It should not end with a young woman suffering a heart attack, or a gonzo author pulling his own trigger or even an infamous court lawyer losing his razor-sharp analytic mind to a brain tumor. Life should end, eternity begin as peacefully for everyone as it did for my Uncle Joe.
I wish I could have been there...kids, job, planes. I wish I could also have been at my uncle's 80th birthday the month before, when he was joined by generations of loving relatives and friends whose lives were better and lighter for his being with them. I hope the family who loved him so remembered that celebration even today and the closure it had to help bring. But I will see them soon enough when I come back to Bridgeport and my dad in May, paying them the attention they deserve. I've enclosed his obituary as printed in the Norristown, PA "Times Herald":
Joseph Pizza Sr. Joseph A. ``Joe'' Pizza, Sr., age 80, of Bridgeport, died peacefully in Temple University Hospital, Philadelphia on Wednesday, March 23, 2005 surrounded by his loving family.
Born in Bridgeport on Feb. 18, 1925, he was a son of the late John and Elmerinda (Pullo) Pizza. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Concetta ``Connie'' (Marinari) Pizza; a son, Joseph A. Pizza, Jr. and his wife Jennifer of Dushore; two daughters: Theresa Wagner and her husband Robert J. of Bridgeport and Sandra Griffith and her husband Jerome of Bridgeport; seven grandchildren: Daniel and Michael Pizza, Mary Jo and Amanda Wagner, Marita, Jerry and Michael Griffith; a brother, Albert J. Pizza of Bridgeport and many nephews, nieces and cousins.
He was preceded in death by a sister, Carmella Rocchino and a brother, Samuel Pizza. Joe was a member of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, Bridgeport where he was an annual Feast Volunteer Worker. He and his family took joy in serving the parish at the tomato pie and meatball sandwich stand each year. He was also involved in community associations such as the Italian American War Veteran Club of Clifton Heights Post 16 for 41 years. After graduating from Bridgeport High School, class of 1943, Joe honored his country and his family by becoming a U.S. Army Veteran of WWII, serving in the 78th Infantry Division of Germany. He was the recipient of multiple medals, most notably the Purple Heart Medal. He actively supported the VFW Post 840.
A lifelong resident of Bridgeport, Joe owned and operated ``Joe's Auto Body Shop'' for approximately 30 years. In addition to his ``Purple Heart," Joe also had a heart of gold; bestowing friendship, generosity, and humor upon everyone that crossed his path or came in contact with him. As some of his hobbies, he enjoyed gardening and taking care of pets and stray animals.
Relatives and friends are invited to his funeral from The Bacchi-Courtney Funeral Home and Crematory, Ltd., 805 DeKalb Street (Route 202), Bridgeport, PA on Tuesday, March 29, 2005 at 9:20 a.m. followed by his Funeral Mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, 502 Ford St., Bridgeport, PA at 10 a.m. His viewing will be Monday evening 6 to 9 p.m. and Tuesday morning 8:30 to 9:20 a.m., both at the funeral home. Interment will be in St. Augustine Cemetery, Upper Merion Township. Arrangements are by The Bacchi-Courtney Funeral Home and Crematory Ltd.
I've written much here as well of Terri Schiavo and her long, slow fade from life. You see the list of well wishers sold to a conservative direct marketing firm. Rev. Jesse Jackson, who many have seen as being an opportunist, visits the family and speaks some rare truth calling Terri's death "immoral" and "unnecessary." Finally, they speak even before she's breathed her last of an autopsy they claim will definitively reveal her condition and justify Michael's decision to end her life - and define his.
And then there's the New York Times/Newsweek's renowned Anna Quindlen, who wraps her alignment with the culture of death in honeyed, reasonable prose. There is no culture of life, she says, only the culture of your life, and of mine. I prefer Peggy Noonan's columns all week in the Wall Street Journal and would place her leading question to Ms. Quindlen: Did God create life, or didn' t He? Are you a child of God, or aren't you?
The Terri Schiavo circus, with its activist clowns and celebrity ringmasters, soon will pack and leave for another televised showdown between red and blue states, between government branches, between cultures of life and death. (One man, who obviously has missed the whole point, even threatened members of Schiavo's extended family in Philadelphia.) I only hope enough good people prepare themselves and their loved ones for the ineviatable end no matter how soon it may arrive.
Life should end as a gentle walk between sleep and eternity, so we still see the shadows of what a wonderful person did for everyone who knew him. It should not end with a young woman suffering a heart attack, or a gonzo author pulling his own trigger or even an infamous court lawyer losing his razor-sharp analytic mind to a brain tumor. Life should end, eternity begin as peacefully for everyone as it did for my Uncle Joe.
No comments:
Post a Comment