Bacia

Bacia peacefully passed away on Wednesday, May 4, 2011. She was laid to rest on Saturday, May 7, 2011. This all seems so surreal to us still as eventhough we know we all will pass on one day, Bacia just always came across as one that was larger than life and would always be here. It's hard to accept the fact that she isn't.

I gave the eulogy at her service yesterday and thought I would share it here.

Bacia’s Eulogy

May 7, 2011

Given By: Jennifer Endicott (granddaughter)

On behalf of the family of Irene Riso, or as we all called her – Bacia – I would like to thank all of you for being here today; for the phone calls, the cards, the gifts of food, flowers, the prayers or any expression of sympathy shown to us this past week.

Although we are sad and have an enormous void in our lives, we can’t help but celebrate the 96 years that Bacia lived.

I thought I would take a few moments to share some of my favorite memories of Bacia with you. A few years ago, when our dog died, we wrote a story about him. We shared it with Bacia as she really loved that dog (she loved all pets). After she finished reading it, she commented that she hoped her eulogy would be half as nice as that story about Lucky the Dog. I hope I do her proud with this.

She was an extraordinary woman with strengths and weaknesses. Her journey included triumph and tragedy, hope and heartache; losing her husband 50 years ago and caring for her disabled son till his death 14 years ago.

When my Grandpa died, Bacia was left to be the sole caretaker of her children. She went to work at the Sanders Candy Company. She was still working there when I was a little girl and my mom would take me to see her at work many times. I was like a kid in a candy story (LITERALLY!). The store also sold greeting cards…One day, I decided they needed rearranging….yeah, Bacia’s boss wasn’t too thrilled about that. It’s amazing she still had her job after that!

Bacia was a phenomenal cook – as most of you have experienced over the years. She loved being in the kitchen and honestly, we loved her being in there because it meant we would soon have a fabulous meal. When Lauren and I would spend the night with Bacia, we knew that in the morning we would have homemade pancakes or waffles. Lunches and dinners were equally amazing – usually a Polish or Italian feast.

And her baking was just as good, if not better. Her homemade bread and rolls, paczki’s for Fat Tuesday and her angel wings just to name a few. In the days leading up to my wedding and Lauren’s, Bacia fried up dozens and dozens of angel wings to have at our receptions.

Her love of cooking didn’t end with us. When we were younger and Mom and Dad would take us on vacation, we would leave the dog with Bacia. Shortly after leaving on one of our trips, Bacia called us in a bit of a panic. She was uncertain as to what to feed the dog next. She had given her scrambled eggs for breakfast and pork chops for dinner. She was stumped. Dad patiently (and calmly) suggested that she just feed the dog her dry dog food!

Because Bacia enjoyed cooking so much, she owned several cookbooks. But as I grew up, I noticed she really didn’t refer to them much while cooking. Rather she would always pull one out as we were headed out the door to run an errand. Come to find out, Bacia would hide her spending cash in several cookbooks rather than have it all in her wallet. About 10 years ago, when we were moving Bacia in with my parents, we spent several hours going through all of her books, just to make sure we found all of the hidden money.

When I was 14, Bacia told me she was going to teach me how to drive. She took me to the cemetery as she figured I couldn’t hurt anyone and the speed limit was SLOW. I quickly mastered driving 15 MPH.

We did have to take away Bacia’s drivers license about 9 years ago. She had caused a few fender benders and was repeatedly using the left turn lane as a regular driving lane. We explained to her that you couldn’t drive in the left lane. She argued back that she fully intended to turn left at the next intersection….it just happened to be a mile down the road.

In the past week, I have learned many new things about Bacia, one of them being the fact she never had to take a driving test. Turns out when she went for her road test, the officer administering the test was a guy Bacia dated in high school. He waived the road test for her!

Bacia was stubborn and feisty….and loved to get the last word in. Shortly after suffering her stroke last week, Mom was standing next to her talking to her. Bacia looked up at Mom, smiled and mumbled “I Love You”. Soon after, Bacia slipped into a coma. Those were her last words.

We had many conversations with Hospice during the last days of Bacia’s life. In one particular discussion, we mentioned Bacia enjoyed a beer every now and again and when she passed, our plan was to toast her with a beer. The hospice nurse left the room for a moment and then returned with bottles of beer. She said we should toast Bacia now while she still had a presence in the room. Mom, Lauren and I along with a few family friends that happened to be visiting at the time, stood around Bacia’s bed and toasted her with her favorite toast.

At this time, I would like all of you to hold up your hand, imagining your are holding your favorite beverage and join me in toasting Bacia one last time…”Here’s to all who wish us well, all the rest can go to hell.”

Here’s to you Bacia – God Bless You – We Love You!