Thursday, May 30, 2019
To my self adopted sisters Chris, Kathy, Maria, Antonia, and of course, my BFF Jackie, and my extended Faria, Reynolds, and Watrous Clans, I mourn Tony’s passing with you. All of you, starting with Jackie, and your mom and dad, always welcomed me into all of your homes no matter the time of day, and always warmed my heart through all the trials and tribulations of our lives.
I remember sitting in the kitchen with your mom, drinking coffee (on occasion without Play-Do!) and smoking cigarettes when suddenly we’d hear the bedroom door open, and your mom would swing into gear to get him off to that graveyard shift at Fafnir. I’d try to fade into the background for that 30 minute routine, and the whirlwind would end and settle back into more coffee and cigarettes as he went off to work.
I remember well their 25th anniversary party, and the not quite ready for prime time tales he’d be telling to family, all within earshot. And the week your mom rented a cottage at the shore with her sisters, and Jackie and I just crashed on the front porch. He was there, too, but the Gendron sisters were clearly in their element, so we’d just eat the food they prepared, listen to the stories and the laughter that one shares over the course of a lifetime. And the afternoon your dad fell asleep on the couch on the porch, wearing a bathing not intended for prime time! I knew what was happening of course, but I didn’t want to wake the guy up! One of your aunts passed by, glanced down at him, then did a full stop, back it up, and shook his shoulder. ‘Tony!’ Grumble, Grumble. ‘We like you. But not THAT much, as she pointedly looked at his bathing suit which, shall we say, was insufficient to properly conceal what is not revealed amongst company! Grumble Grumble. He moved his legs and went right back into sleep.
And how many times did I hear, while I myself was waiting for the never really ready Jackie to get it together so we could go out, perhaps with Gerald to a drive in, or perhaps to Carol Malinowski’s for New Years Eve, when the bellowing voice would envelop all around us: ‘Jack-wull-in! I need to speak to you!’ And several minutes later she’d appear, and then him, and of course, i always took his side!
He loved all of you very much. And I wouldn’t be who i am today if I hadn’t met that weird girl who was one year ahead of me at MIA, and if Tony and Denise hadn’t always welcomed me as if I was family. My thanks to both of them for enriching my life to this day. And to all of you for opening you’re hearts and sharing your love no matter what.
