After the darkness…
the daylight shines through
After the showers…
the rainbow is new
After life’s heartaches…
there comes from above
the peace and comfort of God’s healing love.Forever in our hearts,
Clara, Mike and Nick
Dear God,
I want to thank you for the lifetime of love, memories, dreams, hopes, and even tears that I have shared with Pete. For our two wonderful sons, in whom so much of him is evident and for all the lives he has touched in his every-unique way. But most of all for the man who will always be a part of me and in whose eyes I always saw such deep love and respect. He had a way of always making me laugh or feel good about myself.
He always had very strong ideals and opinions, but he would always listen and at least try to see things my way when we disagreed. We were so much alike yet so different. Truly the two became one on the day that we married. And that love grew and deepened with each passing day. I have no regrets. What I have is 21+ years of memories and love and a family we began together. A family who I know will grow stronger and closer because of our love and our faith in you and in each other. A faith and love that he nourished and lived with every day of his life.
Thank you again dear God. I ask only that you keep him as close to your heart as he will always be in ours. And that you give us the strength and guidance to see past this pain to the joy he now shares with you in heaven.
Clara
Pete Chirchirillo Memorial Fund
to benefit children with special needs
donations can be sent to the
Philadelphia Foundation,
1234 Market Street
Suite 1800
Philadelphia PA 19107-3794
Peter Chirchirillo: A Mr. Fixit If Peter Chirchirillo did not care for you, he would be nice and polite. But if he really loved you, his wife said, poor you.
Mr. Chirchirillo, 47, a project manager with Marsh USA, had a knack for showing his affection in exuberant ways, his wife, Clara Chirchirillo, said. For a favorite cousin, he bought a welcome mat he put out any time she came to visit. "Go Away," it read. For large weekend gatherings of family or friends at his home, he would set at least five alarm clocks for 7 p.m. and when they all rang, he would announce: "It"s time to go home, everybody. Get out."
His wife of 21 years explained, "He liked to torture people." But she said her husband was really a teddy bear. He was a regular Mr. Fixit, always ready to help, she said. He was sentimental, and "my feelings always came first."
Eight years ago, he agreed to move his family from his native Canarsie, Brooklyn, to Langhorne, Pa., for a safer environment for his two sons, Michael, 18, and Nick, 14. That meant a four-hour round-trip commute to his office at the World Trade Center. Mrs. Chirchirillo said her sons were following in their father"s footsteps. "If I walk out, they lock the door and they make sure I don"t have the keys with me," she said.
Copyright (c) 2001 by The New York Times Co. Reprinted by permission.
