For Mary Weiser
"Life is hard.
Think about it. We have to battle every day. Up for work, the kids need braces, what are we having for dinner, 'Did you hear what happened to who?'
Life is harder when you don't do some of the daily things with a smile on your face.
A couple of days ago, I learned of Mary's passing, and my heart sunk.
Death does that.
It's one of the hardest things about living.
I thought of the Weiser kids - lifelong friends - and then I thought of the hundreds, and hundreds, and hundreds of people who knew and loved Mary.
And I thought of her smile.
I thought of her laugh, actually.
Didn't she have a great laugh?
My Dad and Ward could really make her laugh.
Then I thought of some of the things that planted that smile on her face. Ward was the love of her life, and her constant companion. When we lost him, I felt pain for Mary, but that year at the softball tournament, I approached slowly, and she was smiling.
Then she was laughing.
I thought of her family (and I wrote the names down even though I do know them)
Her children: Scott and Cathy and Matt and Lorraine and Maria.
Her grandchildren: Christopher, Zachery, Hannah, Jacob, Steven, Abbigale and Matthew Jr. (there are a lot of Matthew's in that family...like George Foreman).
Her Great Grandchild: Adriana.
And her siblings: Linda, ROMAN, Karen, Carmen, Lewis, Maria, Dusty, Karen, Bart and Marty.
I thought of the friendship that has bound the Fazzolaris and the Weisers.
Years and years ago we were in California when we discovered that Scott was in the same town. You know how we figured it out?
My Dad called Ward on a Sunday morning just to talk. All those miles and he was just calling to chat.
Lifelong friends bring smiles.
My Dad called Scott and said, 'Come on over, I'll feed you.'
That little invitation has cost Dad and Jim about a half-a-million dollars in sausage and pasta.
When Scott sent me a note to ask me to say a few words today, I thought about the fact that Ward was the judge at my wedding (I should've asked for a jury) and I thought back to when I was just a little boy and the Weisers would come by for food and drinks and laughs with Mom and Dad and Frenchy and McGurk.
And I thought of all the people who would be gathered to say goodbye to a beautiful, wonderful, faith-filled woman and to those who went before and wouldn't be here to say goodbye...
...and I smiled.
Mary lived a truly remarkable life.
Great kids, wonderful grandkids, lifelong friends, a truly remarkable marriage, and you know what?
It wasn't easy.
Both Mary and Ward battled through health scares (almost every health scare imaginable). There were long days of hard work. There was laughter, and love and faith and fun, and there was heartache.
If you live long enough heartache will find you.
But Mary taught me something very important and it's something I think of each time I come to North Collins.
It's a town that will wrap you and comfort you and teach you to smile through it.
A beautiful woman.
A wonderful life.
Mary did it all with faith and grace and friendship and love and North Collins will remember her always.
May she rest in peace."
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