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Cousin in Australia's Eulogy to Ralph Ralph was a man’s man and typically
never did things in half measures. For those that did not know him, he had a big
heart and was extremely close with his family. A testament to this was how he
regularly dropped in on his parents to say hello or for a quick bite before
heading home. Ralph loved to play drums and this was his way of releasing the
excess energy he had, as he was a very energetic person. On occasions, if his
brother was present, you could hear them belting out some tunes from the
basement of their parent’s house. Anthony on keyboards and Ralph on drums. It is difficult to stand here and try
and describe to you what sort of person Ralph was in a few paragraphs. Suffice
it to say that he was a devoted family man who loved his wife, children and
family and was loved by them as well. An
example of this is the relationship he had between Jennifer – his wife, and
his children. They were a very
tight-knit family and rarely did anything without each other. Ralph and Ralph
Jnr each night would sit down in front of the TV and eat Ralph’s favourite
biscuits. Ralph would share and feed Ralph Jnr his biscuits and Ralph Jnr would
do the same. Since Ralph has been gone Ralph Jnr every night still goes to a
photograph of his dad on the fridge and tries to feed his dad the biscuit. It was Ralph’s 2nd day on the job at
the WTC when the planes hit the buildings. In watching the buildings crumble on
the television, you would hope that everyone had made it out alive and that only
a few lives would be lost at worst. The following days, not having heard of
Ralph’s safety led closer and closer to the realisation that Ralph was no
longer with us. Why his life was tragically cut short only God knows. God had
other plans for Ralph something we think what would Ralph have wanted. By being
the type of man he was, he would have wanted to ensure that his wife and
children were looked after. His family without doubt will unite and be strong
for each other and for his children and wife. We too can be strong and although
we may not be able to assist in the physical aspects of lending support, we can
always be someone to talk to when things get tough or to put a smile on their
face to drop them a note to simply say ‘Hi’. Needless to say Ralph has touched our
lives in many different ways and in particular my life is all the more, richer
for having known Ralph and I am honoured to be able to say that Ralph Licciardi
is my cousin. The seas may divide the countries but the bond we had with Ralph did not know boundaries. We grieve for our cousin, nephew, and friend. We use this service as an opportunity to say goodbye to Ralph who lived on the earth and have comfort in that he will be watching over his young family in eternal paradise with Jesus Christ our Lord. |
