Words of Remembrance
For my Dad, George Viti
Cathedral of St. Catharine of Siena
Allentown, Pennsylvania
Saturday, November 18, 2023
by Kim Viti Fiorentino
I want to thank each of you for joining us today to celebrate my father, George Viti.
Over the beautiful journey of his 95 years, my father had many words of wisdom – one of his favorites was
EVERY DAY IS A SPECIAL OCCASION – NOT TO BE WASTED
And so today, we will come together for this very special occasion of thanking God for Dad’s beautiful life and sending him forth to the Lord with prayers of supplication for his Eternal rest.
On behalf of my brother, Craig, and myself, I want to share some reflections.
My father was a gifted man – he was gracious, intelligent, hard-working, analytical, resilient, dashing, charismatic, accomplished and loving.
Dad was the son of Italian immigrants who proudly came to the United States to embrace opportunities – and was married for almost 64 years to the love of his life, my mother, Theresa. There was not a day that went by without Dad saying “your mother is my sweetheart” and “I am so lucky to be married to her.” My Mom and Dad loved each other dearly and were best friends – a very rare combination and one they both cherished throughout their marriage.
As I have had moments to reflect on my Dad’s life, it became clear there were three pillars that were foundational to him:
His pride in being a citizen of the United States of America
His steadfast Catholic Faith and
His unconditional love and devotion to his family
AMERICA–
My Dad loved our country and expressed so much pride in his service to the United States during the Korean war as a member of the United States Air Force.
Dad served in Okinawa and, because of his musical talents, he was selected to be a member of the United States Air Force band – a distinguished honor for a young man from a small town with no formal musical training – but Dad had innate talents that he cultivated with so much determination.
On the side, Dad had a dance band that entertained officers and soldiers overseas and was broadcast on the radio throughout Asia to all those serving. This music gave joy to so many and created moments of happiness during difficult moments they faced.
Throughout his entire life, Dad reflected on how proud he was to wear the uniform of the United States Air Force and always said how we fortunate we were to live in the greatest country in the world.
FAITH-
Dad was a man of unwavering Catholic faith. He loved this beautiful Cathedral, and he and my Mom were parishioners here for almost 55 years. My Dad counted Bishop Thompson, the former pastor here who became the Bishop of Charleston, as a close friend for many years.
Mom and Dad raised Craig and me in our own Catholic Faith here where we both had our First Holy Communion and Confirmations. As a family, we shared Sunday Masses, Stations of the Cross, Confession, their 50 th anniversary celebration and so many holy moments in the Real Presence of the Lord in this Holy place.
My Dad was always dressed up for Mass – looking his dashing self – and even in these past several years when he watched Mass via live-stream, he always insisted on putting on his “good Sunday clothes” to sit in the living room and fully participate in all components of the televised Mass.
My parents did the bulletin boards in the back vestibule of the Cathedral for about 15 years – with my Mom making sure there were lots of nice pictures of the priests – and my Dad ensuring that everything was lined up perfectly to reflect the importance of this Cathedral.
About a week ago Dad was interviewed for a film our goddaughter, Sarah, is producing for the Vatican – a video about caring for the sick. Sarah asked my Dad about his words of wisdom that every day is a special occasion – and asked him “what does that mean to you, Papa George?”
Dad paused a moment, then said “well, life is a gift from God that He blessed us with -- and that is something we should all be very grateful for every day.”
And that gratitude in the gift of life was reflected in his devotion to the Lord and gracious thanksgiving for all of the “chapters of his life” that the Lord allowed him to experience.
FAMILY-
The most enduring priority in my Dad’s life was to his family.
Dad started as a steadfastly devoted child to his immigrant, hard-working parents, Sam and Gonda Viti and was a lifelong supporter of his three siblings, Sam, Geraldine and Roland.
Dad was a devoted, strong, loving and caring husband to his beloved wife, Theresa.
Dad was the provider of abundant opportunities, support, encouragement and love to my brother and me from childhood to these last moments we cherished with him.
And Dad loved my husband, Lou, Craig’s wife, Jane, was so proud of his grandchildren, Jack and Liliya and cherished our goddaughter Sarah who was a constant source of making him cheerful.
Dad was a man of unconditional love to our family and glorified and dignified our lives in so many ways that gave us the steadfast foundation of love and encouragement to achieve our full potential and realize our dreams.
RIDES
My Dad enjoyed doing many things in life – dining, traveling, conquering sudukos, “wine time,” – and one of his favorites things to do was going for rides in the car.
My brother reflected on rides he took with Dad growing up or, as my Mom called them, “the Trexlertown rides.” I understand a lot of subjects were discussed during those rides and Dad would impart his wisdom about the ways of the world and instill life lessons to be used in the future.
Since Lou and I moved back to Allentown three years ago, we both took Dad on many rides and in the past several months during the course of his battling cancer, my father and I would go on “Daddy-daughter” rides through the beautiful countryside near our home every Sunday after Mass.
As I conclude my remarks, I want to share one important ride I took with my father that has created an embedded memory and great lesson of my life.
Before moving to Allentown, we lived for several years in Cincinnati, Ohio. There was a large amusement park there and our family of four went there one Sunday and enjoyed a day of fun and frolicking. As we were about to leave, I saw a ride I wanted to go on – it was called “The Lost River.” To my 6 year old eyes, it looked like a fun, meandering ride on a boat through a lazy river.
My Mom and Craig obviously saw another component as they refused to go on the ride with us – and my Dad probably saw it too -- but also seeing how much I wanted to go, Dad agreed to take me.
We got on the ride and winded through tunnels and caverns on the apparently gentle river. But then – just ahead – was a huge incline the boat would be taken up – up a very large mountain – at least that is how it looked to my 6 year old eyes!!
I was suddenly terrified – but my Dad told me not to worry and tucked me in close, held my hand and told me we were going to be fine.
So up and up we went – to the very high top of the mountain – and then plummeted down to the bottom with a big splash that sprayed water everywhere – and we were fine – and I felt so excited and brave!
As I look back upon this memory, I see that it would actually turn out to be a great metaphor for my journey through life with my Dad. That no matter what I went through – the meandering tunnels or the scary, challenging parts of the journey -- Dad was always at my side – holding me close – keeping me safe – loving me.
And now I think how this great love my Dad unconditionally gave to me, my Mom, my brother and all those he loved, created a glimpse of our Heavenly Father’s even greater love and care for each of us.
I pray that my Dad will be in the Eternal embrace of that loving, merciful Heavenly Father – and am so grateful we will share in the celebration of this beautiful Mass, to send forth prayers to guide him to this Eternal Peace.