Saluti

It is with great sadness and shock that we said goodbye to Papa last week. After having a lovely day spending time with him at the lunch we had for Jon and Reed's Birthdays we received the heart breaking call the next day that our goodbyes the afternoon before had been our last ones. While all of us wish we had known that would be our last time together it is also comforting to know that if Papa had his way he would have gone just like he did - spending the day with his family the day prior, no hospitals or nursing homes, just working out in his yard and then leaving us with Gran by his side.

Jon's stories of Papa growing up usually involve playing games, reading books, playing tennis with him on their annual Pajaro Dunes trip, and sneaking candy past Gran. He was an extremely active guy and had no greater joy than spending time with his family. He was the perfect gentleman always opening Gran's car door, rushing to help anyone carrying a package, platter, or bag of trash, and always going the extra mile to help out in any way. Papa was the maker of lasagna, marinara sauce, and all things Italian, he loved to garden, was always up for a beer or glass of red wine, and never shied away from a cup of black coffee (even if it was late at night - we always marveled at how he could sleep after one).  He loved watching his great grandkids play and even when it got hard for him to play with them he can often be seen in the background of a picture beaming from ear to ear watching on. He enjoyed teaching the kids words in Italian and they will always know mangia (eat) and panza (belly) because of him.

Jerry Cozzi was a lifelong resident of Dos Palos, California. He came from a very large family being the youngest of nine children and is known as Uncle Jerry by too many to count. He served in the US Navy where he received the Defense Medal and the Navy Occupation Medal.  He and Gran were engaged for two years and married in 1954. A year later Nonna was born followed by Diana. He spent the next 25 years farming and retired at an early age when his older brothers were ready to leave the family farming business. He filled his time with community service, belonging to the Dos Palos Y Service Club, the American Legion, and was a volunteer fireman. He and Gran were rarely without each other and were truly best friends. He was 87 years old.

This is the first death of someone the boys knew well and watching them grieve has been hard. Reed sobbing the night I told him and then again at the funeral services was truly heartbreaking but also reflects just how loved Papa was. This is a goodbye that will take us all a long time to get used to. Papa will be the standard of gentleman we try to raise our boys to. The bar is extremely high - my last image of him is him linking arms with Great Grandma Didi to walk her to her car on Sunday - chivalrous to the end, a truly great man. Saluti Papa you will be missed greatly.