Re: Obituary - Someone Else

[Guest guest]

I love this... it reminds me of my Dad, who passed away on New Year's Eve 2006. He was Someone Else. His dedication to the community he lived in was unequaled, and the community loved him. Below is the eulogy I wrote for him. Maybe it doesn't belong here, but I wanted to share with you the story of the man that has inspired me my whole life to help others. After I delivered this speech at his memorial service the mayor wrote about it in the local paper. He impacted a lot of lives....Blessings,trishaREMEMBERING RAY FETTIG

Drop a pebble in the water,

And its ripples reach out

far;

And the sunbeams dancing on

them,

May reflect them to a star.

Give a smile to someone

passing,

Thereby making his morning

glad;

It may greet you in the

evening,

When your own heart may be

sad.

Do a deed of simple

kindness;

Though its end you may not

see,

It may reach, like widening

ripples,

Down a long eternity.

While I don’t know the

author of that poem, I do know a man that lived by its words almost every day

of his life.

As many of you know, over

the past 35 years my father has served the community of Farmingdale through his

work with organizations such as the Farmingdale Soccer Club, the Police

Activity League and Farmingdale Little League. He taught religious education at

St. Church, worked at their annual carnival and volunteered to be a part

of their security patrol when they were hampered by problems with vandals. He

served as Cub Master of Pack #607, where he taught many young boys the

importance of helping others by involving them in numerous community projects.

He was a committeeman-at-large for the Republican Party and even dressed up as

Santa Claus for one of their Christmas parties.

He was a proud American who

loved his country and adored the community of Farmingdale. Which is why, in the

end, he chose to stay here.

These are just a few things

that are well known about my father, and only touch the surface of his

involvement with the Village

of Farmingdale, but I

would like to tell you a few things about him that you may not have known.

He loved nature and the

outdoors. He loved to garden, but hated to weed. He loved to fish and be out on

the water. In the spring we would catch tadpoles at the lake behind the high

school. We would bring them home and put them in our outdoor fountain and by

the end of summer there would be frogs all over the lawn.

He loved to cook and

entertain. He is remembered for his annual summer Hawaiian Luau barbeques, but

was famous for his Christmas Eve parties, which the whole neighborhood would

attend. Santa Claus would even make time to drop by on his busiest night of the

year, arriving atop a fire truck in front of our house, giving out candy canes.

He took chemistry in high

school. Although chemistry is hard, this may not sound like a major feat, but

my father took the entire class in French!

He attended Brooklyn Tech,

where he quickly learned the art of rebar detailing and was able to use his

talents to work on such projects as the Verrazano

Bridge, the refit of Yankee Stadium

and the Twin Towers, a project that he was most proud

of.

He always loved sports and

it seemed as if there were only two seasons in our house; hockey season and

baseball season. April, May, June and October were especially good!

As a teenager he would hop

a train from Queens to Brooklyn, where he

would stand on a wooden soap box so he could peek over the fence at Ebbett’s

Field to watch the Dodgers play. And he would cry every year when the Yankees

would beat his beloved Bums in the World Series.

But even though he hated

the Bronx Bombers for crushing his dreams of a World Championship so many

times, he admired the talents of men like Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio.

You see, my father had a

knack for always seeing the best in every situation, and I think that he would

want us to do the same right now. So I ask that you not be saddened by his

death, but rather be inspired by his life.

Whether you remember him as

a coach, a scout leader, a teacher, a league director, a campaign worker, a

co-worker, a friend, an uncle, a cousin, a brother, a father, or the guy that

taught you how to deal with 4-5 year old moderately interested soccer players,

it doesn’t matter. Just so long as you remember him and the work that he did to

benefit the youth and the community not only of Farmingdale, but of the world.

I ask that each of you

honor his memory by trying to do a simple act of kindness for someone everyday.

This doesn’t mean that you have to run a basketball league or even coach a

soccer team. It only takes a few minutes to check on an elderly neighbor that

may be lonely, or a second to smile at a stranger on the street. For life is

not measured by how many years we live on this earth, but by the kindly things

we do and the happiness we give.

I’ll leave you with the

words of Ella Wheeler Wilcox:

Let me tonight look back across the span

Twixt dawn and dusk and to my conscience say –

Because of some good act to beast or man-

“The world is better that I lived today.”

The world is a much better place because of

you, Dad. Thank you for everything.

From: Randy <jqpublic_59@...> Sent: Thursday, January 3, 2008 1:25:46 PMSubject: [] "Obituary - Someone Else"

"Obituary - Someone Else"

Our church was saddened to learn this week of the death of one of

our most valued members, Someone Else. Someone's passing creates a

vacancy that will be difficult to fill. Else has been with us for

many years and for every one of those years, Someone did far more

than a normal person's share of the work.

Whenever there was a job to do, a class to teach, or a meeting to

attend, one name was on everyone's list, "Let Someone Else do it."

Whenever leadership was mentioned, this wonderful person was looked

to for inspiration as well as results; "Someone Else can work with

that group." It was common knowledge that Someone Else was among

the most liberal givers in our church. Whenever there was a

financial need, everyone just assumed Someone Else would make up

the difference.

Someone Else was a wonderful person; sometimes appearing

superhuman. Were the truth known, everybody expected too much of

Someone Else. Now Someone Else is gone! We wonder what we are going

to do.

Someone Else left a wonderful example to follow, but who is going

to follow it? Who is going to do the things Someone Else did? When

you are asked to help this year, remember - we can't depend on

Someone Else anymore.

--Author Unknown

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[Guest guest]

Dearest Trisha,

I wanted to be one of the many that will tell you 'thank you' for posting this for us to share in what an awesome man your father was while living on this earth and just how much he impacted those around him by spreading his compassion, love and caring ways.

What an honor to be blessed with such a personal letter from the heart for your father. He has not gone far, and he has left you to do his earth angel work while here on the earth realm as he guides you from beyond the veil in loving partnership for building a world of kindness and love as God intended for it to be.

Bless you and yours that you will continue going forth and spreading such beauty and compassion and know that your acts of kindness NEVER go un noticed!

Namaste' ~ "Always leave enough time in your life to do something that makes you happy..." ~ Hawken

From: yankeerosecreations@...Date: Fri, 4 Jan 2008 05:39:11 -0800Subject: Re: [] "Obituary - Someone Else"

I love this... it reminds me of my Dad, who passed away on New Year's Eve 2006. He was Someone Else. His dedication to the community he lived in was unequaled, and the community loved him. Below is the eulogy I wrote for him. Maybe it doesn't belong here, but I wanted to share with you the story of the man that has inspired me my whole life to help others. After I delivered this speech at his memorial service the mayor wrote about it in the local paper. He impacted a lot of lives....Blessings,trisha

REMEMBERING RAY FETTIG

Drop a pebble in the water,

And its ripples reach out far;

And the sunbeams dancing on them,

May reflect them to a star.

Give a smile to someone passing,

Thereby making his morning glad;

It may greet you in the evening,

When your own heart may be sad.

Do a deed of simple kindness;

Though its end you may not see,

It may reach, like widening ripples,

Down a long eternity.

While I don’t know the author of that poem, I do know a man that lived by its words almost every day of his life.

As many of you know, over the past 35 years my father has served the community of Farmingdale through his work with organizations such as the Farmingdale Soccer Club, the Police Activity League and Farmingdale Little League. He taught religious education at St. Church, worked at their annual carnival and volunteered to be a part of their security patrol when they were hampered by problems with vandals. He served as Cub Master of Pack #607, where he taught many young boys the importance of helping others by involving them in numerous community projects. He was a committeeman-at-large for the Republican Party and even dressed up as Santa Claus for one of their Christmas parties.

He was a proud American who loved his country and adored the community of Farmingdale. Which is why, in the end, he chose to stay here.

These are just a few things that are well known about my father, and only touch the surface of his involvement with the Village of Farmingdale, but I would like to tell you a few things about him that you may not have known.

He loved nature and the outdoors. He loved to garden, but hated to weed. He loved to fish and be out on the water. In the spring we would catch tadpoles at the lake behind the high school. We would bring them home and put them in our outdoor fountain and by the end of summer there would be frogs all over the lawn.

He loved to cook and entertain. He is remembered for his annual summer Hawaiian Luau barbeques, but was famous for his Christmas Eve parties, which the whole neighborhood would attend. Santa Claus would even make time to drop by on his busiest night of the year, arriving atop a fire truck in front of our house, giving out candy canes.

He took chemistry in high school. Although chemistry is hard, this may not sound like a major feat, but my father took the entire class in French!

He attended Brooklyn Tech, where he quickly learned the art of rebar detailing and was able to use his talents to work on such projects as the Verrazano Bridge, the refit of Yankee Stadium and the Twin Towers, a project that he was most proud of.

He always loved sports and it seemed as if there were only two seasons in our house; hockey season and baseball season. April, May, June and October were especially good!

As a teenager he would hop a train from Queens to Brooklyn, where he would stand on a wooden soap box so he could peek over the fence at Ebbett’s Field to watch the Dodgers play. And he would cry every year when the Yankees would beat his beloved Bums in the World Series.

But even though he hated the Bronx Bombers for crushing his dreams of a World Championship so many times, he admired the talents of men like Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio.

You see, my father had a knack for always seeing the best in every situation, and I think that he would want us to do the same right now. So I ask that you not be saddened by his death, but rather be inspired by his life.

Whether you remember him as a coach, a scout leader, a teacher, a league director, a campaign worker, a co-worker, a friend, an uncle, a cousin, a brother, a father, or the guy that taught you how to deal with 4-5 year old moderately interested soccer players, it doesn’t matter. Just so long as you remember him and the work that he did to benefit the youth and the community not only of Farmingdale, but of the world.

I ask that each of you honor his memory by trying to do a simple act of kindness for someone everyday. This doesn’t mean that you have to run a basketball league or even coach a soccer team. It only takes a few minutes to check on an elderly neighbor that may be lonely, or a second to smile at a stranger on the street. For life is not measured by how many years we live on this earth, but by the kindly things we do and the happiness we give.

I’ll leave you with the words of Ella Wheeler Wilcox:

Let me tonight look back across the span

Twixt dawn and dusk and to my conscience say –

Because of some good act to beast or man-

“The world is better that I lived today.”

The world is a much better place because of you, Dad. Thank you for everything.

From: Randy <jqpublic_59 > Sent: Thursday, January 3, 2008 1:25:46 PMSubject: [] "Obituary - Someone Else"

"Obituary - Someone Else"Our church was saddened to learn this week of the death of one ofour most valued members, Someone Else. Someone's passing creates avacancy that will be difficult to fill. Else has been with us formany years and for every one of those years, Someone did far morethan a normal person's share of the work.Whenever there was a job to do, a class to teach, or a meeting toattend, one name was on everyone's list, "Let Someone Else do it."Whenever leadership was mentioned, this wonderful person was lookedto for inspiration as well as results; "Someone Else can work withthat group." It was common knowledge that Someone Else was amongthe most liberal givers in our church. Whenever there was afinancial need, everyone just assumed Someone Else would make upthe difference.Someone Else was a wonderful person; sometimes appearingsuperhuman. Were the truth known, everybody expected too much ofSomeone Else. Now Someone Else is gone! We wonder what we are goingto do.Someone Else left a wonderful example to follow, but who is goingto follow it? Who is going to do the things Someone Else did? Whenyou are asked to help this year, remember - we can't depend onSomeone Else anymore.--Author Unknown

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