our greg

This is my cousin Gregory. He passed away just 6 days ago. I don't know what else to say except to share what I said at his memorial service on Wednesday.

"We all know that a picture is worth at least 1000 words. During the past few days, we’ve looked at many, many pictures of Gregory with his family and friends. Some of these photos can be seen on the photo boards today. They speak millions of words and tell wonderful stories about our Gregory and his loving family.

We see Gregory as an infant, already curious about his world. We see him standing between his parents taking some first steps. We see him camping with his mom, dad, and sister Amy as an energetic toddler, clothes so dirty with fun that it took three days to clean them. We see photos of him proudly holding his catch after fishing with his dad and grandfather. We see his face, hands, and sleeves covered with his mom’s spaghetti sauce. We see him throwing his head back with laughter, so full of the joy he couldn’t contain. We see him countless times with loving family members whose own joy was increased by his exuberance. We see him enjoying the outdoors, the natural world God created. We see him so often with Amy, the sister and brother so obviously displaying their love for one another, and a few times with a bit of youthful sibling mischief. We see him as a young man preparing for an Outward Bound adventure by allowing his grandmother Dorothy to give him a pedicure.

In his high school yearbook, his parents wrote: 'You didn’t walk, you ran. You didn’t cry, you screamed. You didn’t smile, you laughed. From the day you were born, your indomitable spirit and sense of adventure have been a source of inspiration and joy to us. Your heart is kind, your humor high, and we are proud of the young man you have become. Think big… dream dreams… work heard and carry our love and support with you always. Love, Dad, Mom, & Amy.'

We see the infant, the toddler, the boy, and the young man and know that all of this is true.


I’m going to share a couple of memories of Gregory, and then we’d like to extend the opportunity to any of you who also would like to speak about our Gregory.

I remember the day Gregory was born. I was six years old and at a friend’s house. Mom called me and said, 'You have a new baby cousin, and his name is Gregory.' Now, I am certain that his birth was God’s comforting hand, bringing some measure of joy to an otherwise very difficult time, so close to our grandfather Carmine’s passing. Gregory was a student of life. I don’t know many other little boys who will crash matchbox cars one minute, go play outside, come in filthy dirty, take a bath… and then, put on their footy pajamas and come downstairs and ask their babysitting older cousin if we could please watch The Sound of Music. I thank God for his presence in our world. "