We have all come together to celebrate two men, here in the Lords house, where my father was always at peace. Not long ago Frank made arrangements for us to take dad to visit every home he lived in in NY. Frank took such great care of our dad, I guess he wanted to be there along with my mom, Bob Tony, Marie, and all of his family & friends, to show my dad his final and most glorious home Frank G Reale was a man who loved deeply who kept God in his life, who showed all of us what it was to be a son, a brother, an uncle and friend and a husband, who after loosing my mom, a woman he adored, found love again. It was beautiful to see how happy he was and how much he loved Judy. He was also a grandfather who truly believed each grandchild was a gift from God and therefore perfect and of course a father, oh what a father he was. Even though he pretended to like me best, inside joke, his smile when any of us entered the room clearly showed how he cherished us all.
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Frank A Reale, a son, a husband, stepfather, grandfather, uncle, friend and brother I do struggle trying to find the words to express my feelings about my brother Frank. If a life was a painting he would have been all of the vibrant colors in mine. He was my past, my present and I believed my future. But I guess when you have brothers like I have, a family like I have, not even death can break this bond nor keep them from being a part of our futures George and I along with all of you have so many thoughts, so many memories and stories to share about these two men. But the story to be told is not just theirs or ours it began generations ago, with the young mother my grandmother, who, left widowed with 6 young children during the depression, managed to keep her family together, teaching my dad how love can conquer any obstacle. Or the minister and his wife, my mom's parents, who traveled spreading the word of God and who also raised 5 children including my mom, the most amazing woman I know.
When I think of our family, I immediately think of love and laughter what a masterpiece we are, it is why it is so difficult to eulogize my father and my brother separately. Both men impacted thousands, my dad who always had a message of love and brotherhood, with a sprinkling of silliness and my brother who provided guidance, support and caring to so many especially young people, with a vey large dose of silliness
It is fitting that we celebrate these two men together, here in the Lords house. If you notice I have repeatedly used the word love throughout this eulogy, very fitting when reflecting on these two men and how they impacted all who knew them.
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I once heard a priest say that God gave us many gifts, but the gift of memory was one to be treasured as we never have to say goodbye to our loved ones So although my heart aches as does yours, I know that the time will come when we will smile and bless the memories.
I would like to conclude with something I wrote for my brother Bob
A man”s greatnesses is best measured by the love given, the riches shared, the laughter and joy generated...
Robert J Reale now joined by Frank G Reale and Frank A Reale, truly great men