Richard “Dick” Manti
Richard Orlando Manti, 64, of Charlotte, NC, passed away peacefully and comfortably in the loving presence of his daughter Andrea Manti. Dick is survived by his wife Lucia (Cia) of 39 years, his eldest son Christopher Manti, Christopher’s wife Penny Yee and his youngest daughter Andrea Manti.
Dick was a loving father, husband and friend to all. He was the first to crack a joke and induce some well needed laughter, always. Over the past 20+ years, Dick persevered through both a quintuple bi-pass and kidney transplant. Through it all he did everything in his power to provide as much normalcy for his family as he possibly could. So much so that prior to his kidney transplant, he brought his dialysis bags on a camping trip so he could provide an everlasting, summer memory in the Adirondacks for the people he loved so dearly. Dick was a resourceful man, sweet talking a local RV camper into sharing his microwave for Dad to warm his bag which shorted the entire camp ground. In his words….totally worth it.
Dick spent 15 years as a dedicated restaurateur. With the help of his son Christopher and his wife Cia, he managed to build 2 restaurants and a catering business from the ground up. While his youngest Andrea had not shown interest in being involved in the construction or daily upkeep of the family business, she enjoyed many a home cooked meal. If ever was there a passion for this man, cooking was it. After retiring the family business in Syracuse, NY and moving to Raleigh, NC in 2001 to be closer to his youngest, Dick continued to delight his friends and family with his delectable cuisine. He would spend hours creating magnificent dishes from scratch, recipes he pulled from the depths of his memory banks, to feed those he loved during any and all occasions.
In addition to his many tireless hours in the kitchen, Dick could annihilate a crossword puzzle in less than 10 minutes. The New York Times was no match for Dick “The Wordsmith” Manti.
Dick was known as a sweet and humble man that allowed him to nurture special bonds with the people with whom he came into contact with. This man’s love and support extended to all animals through his hours of volunteer service with the Humane Society of Charlotte,
A special thank you to the various Fresenius Dialysis centers that provided long term care for Dick over that past 10+ years, to Novant Presbyterian Uptown for their tender care of Dick in his last, precious, living moments and to the Ellington Funeral Home in Charlotte, NC who treated him with such loving care.
Dick’s family has decided to honor his wishes for cremation through the Ellington Funeral Home and the omission of a traditional funeral procession. In lieu of the service, his family will have an open house at his home Saturday June 4, 2016 through Tuesday June 7, 2016 which will be reserved for a celebration of life.
In closing, Dick’s family also requests that in lieu of flowers, please take the time to place a donation with The National Kidney Foundation in his honor-- https://www.kidney.org/support/ and/or The Humane Society of Charlotte http://humanesocietyofcharlotte.org/donate-now/
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