Aunt Mary had a problem dealing with technology and especially with her VCR recorder. She could not figure out how to use it and she would call me – Joe I need help! So I would go upstairs and once more teach her how to record or play videos on the VCR. Several times I put together step by step instructions but it didn’t help. So I “fixed” her VCR many times.
One day when my two brothers where young, Mike and Rick were home alone. They were alway rough housing with each other as brother would do. Well, I came home with my father and there was a very large hole in the kitchen wall probably caused by someone being thrown into it. When my father asked what happened, who did it they both said “I don’t know”. And that’s the way it ended. Rather than try and patch the large hole, my Dad just put paneling over it half way up the wall.
Aunt Mary was always was offering me and my cousins what she thought was advice on what we did even though we didn’t want it. We would respond “O Aunt Mary!” But that didn’t stop her from offering her advice.
An annual family tradition was that Aunt Mary would have an “open house” on New Years day in her small apartment and everyone in the family stopped by some time to share in her baked Lasagna. People came and went throughout the day. People were sitting everywhere but it was a great celebration to begin the new year.
Mary Ragucci passed away at age 99, just 26 days away from her 100th birthday, on Nov 19th 2019. The following homily was given by her nephew Deacon Joe Ragucci at her funeral Mass:
Continue readingDeacon Joseph D. Ragucci 
25th Anniversary of Ordination
Deacon Joseph D. Ragucci has served at St. John Vianney Parish, Colonia, for the. past 25 years. Reflecting on his vocation, he said his path to the diaconate began at st. Joseph Parish, Carteret, where he and his wife, Rose, worshipped for the first 15 years of their marriage.
When I was young the local fireworks were over Carteret Park which was about 1/2 mile from my house. Sometimes we would walk there to see the fireworks but more likely we would just walk a few blocks to where the homes ended (after the barracks) and watched them across the field. Once homes were Continue reading