Menu
Search by Name
Search by Name
FUNERAL HOME
Peter Lostocco Obituary
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for Peter Lostocco
1 Entry
Larry Lostocco
August 26, 2002
"A Tribute To My Wonderful Uncle Pete"
(written to my entire Family, and at times...to my Uncle Pete)
Tuesday, August 20th, 2002, is a day I will remember for a long while. That was a day marked with some previous unfelt sadness as my wonderful Uncle Pete...your husband, your Dad, our uncle, and our best friend...left us on Earth. However, I believe the sadness will disappear once we realize where he is, and how short the time remains before all of us (hopefully), get to see him next.
Although we are all remorse today, I'm sure Uncle Pete is in Heaven with God, and he is in the "best" resting place right now with Grandma and Grandpa, and the rest of our clan. My gracious Uncle Pete was a "young 68" when he left us, was retired for only 6 years and just settlin' back to enjoy both his budding family, and his continued life within that self-made chalet (in the quiet southern town of Jacksonville, Vermont). However, we must know that he will still enjoy all that and more...only, it will be from afar.
As you can guess, I wanted to see Uncle Pete at least one more time while he was well, and I desperately wanted to attend Uncle Pete's services after he was gone. But, it was not meant to be. However, a fact remains in that I woke up this past Wednesday morning at 6:30AM with a full head of real nice words as a eulogy for my kind and gentile Uncle Pete. Actually, if I had traveled up North for the services, I could have NEVER stood up and delivered this thing properly for the obvious reasons. [ I am extremely sensitive with these kinds of issues. I cry at weddings, I cry at funerals...heck, I even cried at the end of "Love Story"! "Hey Uncle Pete, I'm sorry for this inability. Hey, wait up now, doesn't love mean never having to say I'm sorry???" ** smile** ] Yeah, for me, I don't think writing a eulogy is a qualification thing...or would I think whether the subject matter for that eulogy would be one-sided or not...however, I know it would be the huge "emotion factor" that would basically scare me away from doing it altogether. However, I am sending these words to my entire family as my lasting impression and my lasting tribute to a remarkable husband, caring father, fine uncle, and very helpful friend -- and yes, we are all aware how he went out of his way to help everyone. I plan to continue to keep Uncle Pete in my morning and evening prayers, and I know I will think about him, in a general sense, each and every day now that he has passed.
Anyway, as such, it is with great sadness that I could NOT go up to Connecticut with my much-loved wife, Joanne, to be with my family and witness my Uncle Pete's final praising moments. Please know that I have always admired my soft-spoken Uncle Pete for so many reasons and I have many personal fond memories over the years...and in particular, his doing so much for me when I was a little boy. I was his first nephew, and maybe that had something to do about it. But, over time, I found out it was really more than just that.
My earliest lasting memory of Uncle Pete is him leaving for Army duty after he came home to visit us on a short leave. I was extremely young (about age 6), while he was relatively young and out of high school (maybe by two or three years). With Uncle "Petey" in his spiffy Army uniform, and a big dufflebag of clothes on his back, Grandpa and Grandma, together with me and my Mom, drove "Petey" to the Berlin Turnpike so that he could catch a shuttle bus to Army Camp from there. I can still remember exactly where that drop-off point is located. From Gramp's little Buick, we watched him proudly walk down the embankment to the buzzing Pike below. Before we left that spot for home, we always waited in the car until the bus arrived. Then from a distance, we waved at "Petey" as the bus began to move, and then we stopped waving when it was out of sight. Such a sad moment to see him go away like that. It was especially straining for Grandma, because she had previously lost a son in the US Army Air Force. That son was Uncle Guerino (as we all know, Guerino died as a war hero in a B-17 bomber just a dozen years earlier in a World War II combat mission flying over Germany while helping to rid the world of that terrible Nazi menace). Sure, Uncle "Petey" was deeply loved most from his own family members and close friends; but we must remember that he was also loved a lot from those who barely knew him, too.
Yes-sir-ee, Uncle Pete was the single-most person who was responsible for having my first "baseball catch", and for getting me first interested in sports. At that time, I was about 9 years old -- and he was a big, handsome, strapping ex-high school running back on the Plainville football team (actually, my Mom and Aunt Pat say he was still handsome right up till his passing) -- and supposedly, all the girls at school wanted to date him; but after he got out of the Army, he ended up marrying his "across-the-street" childhood sweetheart in Plainville, Connecticut, the delightful Barbara Soden. They were both lucky people, and they also had much luck in their marriage 'cause they were married on a rainy day (ah, who remembers that wet day besides me?). When Uncle Pete walked around, both then and now, I remember there was always with a big smile on his friendly face; and always with that trademark "laugh" and that trademark "smirk"! Ha-ha! Now get this, at that time, I remember wanting to be big and strong and good-looking like Uncle Pete when I grew up. Unfortunately, it never happened!
One of Uncle Pete's first jobs following his return from Army duty, was with the Sears and Roebuck Company. He drove around the entire Hartford County area in a Sears van repairing various TV's and other electrical equipment. How cool was THAT??? I remember being so proud to have an uncle who did that kind of work by riding in a neat company vehicle, and I was not afraid to brag about it to all my young neighborhood friends.
Uncle Pete was also the first person (outside my Mom and Dad) who took me under his wing when I was very young. The highlights include the following: he used to give me the nicest and most unusual Christmas gifts with Uncle Ralph until I got older (about age 11), he played catch with me using that grand ol' baseball mitt of his, and he picked me up at my house on weekends to give me chores around his home (ages 7-11). In doing all that, Uncle Pete showed me all sorts of good stuff in his cellar and in his garage (why I still remember that huge powerful circular magnet that hung upside down from the metal-encased cellar window next to his toolbench, and I played with that magnet every time I stopped over). I was naturally inquisitive and with that, Uncle Pete helped me understand how many things worked (especially the electronic things which was his forte). Furthermore, he gave me a little spending money as payment for my fervent services throughout that entire learning process, too! Oooo-la-la...did I enjoy that kind of memory...and that kind of money! Remember, no one at my age back then, had any spending money to buy the things that we secretly desired!
Then came "Move-In Day" from Uncle Pete's and Aunt Barbara's first apartment on Academy Street in Forestville to his first home in upper Eastside Bristol (which incidentally, was not too far from my Mom's house). During that excitable and very sunny day, which was just perfect for moving, I was nearly 11 or 12 years old. We men (which included "myself", my Dad, Uncle Ralph, and Grandpa), used my Dad's truck to haul all their furniture and belongings to that newly built ranch on Kozani Street. Everyone was eager to make that day fun and successful, especially Uncle Pete. Unfortunately, he was a little too eager. Towards the very end of the move, Uncle Pete jumped off the truck's bed to the ground at it's tail-end using the tall siderail as a holding device. Unfortunately, his wedding ring got caught up on the top wooden rail, and the jumping action completely severed-off that member. I saw the whole thing evolve and I was in a big state-of-shock, as I'm sure was Uncle Pete. But to my surprise, I didn't really see a shocked Uncle Pete near that truck...but I did see a most courageous person take that whole tragic event in stride. My Dad just picked up that member from the ground, and then we quickly rushed him to the Bristol Hospital in hopes of getting his hand repaired. The day didn't end there. Beyond that mind-blowing episode, it was time to tell Aunt Barbara and my Grandma about this unfortunate occurrence. o'Dio mio! That in itself, was one of the most difficult things I was ever involved with doing with the adults. I felt so sad for all three of them beyond any words. It was another life-learning experience for us all. The next day, and for many weeks to follow, Uncle Pete walked around, with his hand bandaged up and his arm in a sling, acting like nothin' had ever happened. He seemed to be unmoved by it all. I remember that was exactly how I wanted to be when I grew up...like my Uncle Pete, who was as tough as nails. It is my guess that he was tough and courageous right to the end...yeah, real tough, as if Uncle Pete was carrying that ol' pigskin over the goal line on a "4th and Goal Situation" with nine seconds remaining for the winning touchdown in a very tight Championship football game.
Here's another great thought of Uncle Pete when I was little (and the later part of this thought is probably my second best of the entire bunch). Right now, I thinking how many times my Uncle Pete would drop whatever he was doing to come over to our house to fix our TV that went "on the bum". Well, I believe that number approached one hundred!! Every time our TV (or some other newfangled electronic gizmo) broke down and my Dad couldn't figure it out, my Mom was quick to call Uncle Pete and ask him to help us get it working again. Inevitably, he got it all fixed, and we were happy as "pigs in a poke" once again. OK, here's a real good "Uncle Pete story" for you. There was the time (I was about age 12 or 13), when my shiny new, two-transister, portable, battery-operated radio went completely dead. It was one of those tiny, state-of-the-art radios that looked like a pack of Camel cigarettes. So, who did I call? Well, it wasn't "Ghostbusters". Yes...it was Uncle Pete. Within minutes after that call, he came right over to fix this brand new treasure of mine. I remember him taking it apart, studying the thing over for about ten minutes, scratching his head, doing something with the exposed wires, putting it back together, and then watching him turn it on to see if it worked. Immediately after that first click of the rotary dial, my favorite local pop radio station, WDRC, came blasting out of the little speaker, loud and clear once again. I was ecstatic. My radio was working again! No parts charge, no on-site repair charge, and no delivery charge! He was the greatest person in the world to me at that time. Moments later, I asked Uncle Pete what was wrong with my radio...he took me aside and showed me the "dead" 9-volt battery in his pant pocket, which he had taken from my own radio. Can you imagine that?...in anticipation of the problem, Uncle Pete had the inherent sense to bring a new battery with him before he left home. Is that a great uncle or what???
Over the years, he became a gigantic baseball enthusiast, a chronic football enthusiast, a super-huge golf enthusiast, a big-time boating enthusiast, an avid snowmobile enthusiast, a bouncy camera enthusiast, and last but not least, a busy-bee home construction enthusiast. Actually, for the most part, anything Uncle Pete did, he did with a tremendous amount of enthusiasm. Uncle Pete was always noted as a very hard-worker, and in that same vein, he maintained a tremendous zest for life and that continued, I'm sure, right until the very end. I know "Petey" will go to Heaven with those images clearly stamped on his forehead.
Oh, and how I remember him at age 18, taking both me and Joanne to water-ski on his fairly new motorboat (ah yes...on the unsinkable "Jan-Joy", and rightly named after his two spirited daughters, my two cousins). I remember this event very well as it was soon after I started dating that ol' gal of mine. I also remember the thought of drowning that day, since Uncle Pete was insistent on teaching me to ski even though I was petrified of the dark murky lake water, and I didn't know how to swim even five linear feet. (Besides, I couldn't see straight when skiing since I didn't have my eyeglasses on -- o-my-gosh, I couldn't loose them least I be scolded by my Dad). Then a couple years later, I remember Uncle Pete giving me "thrill" rides on his snowmobile in the open field and forest areas beyond his back yard. His boyish play, and never-ending passion to play on the backs of those swift mechanical beasts of water and snow, fueled my inner desires to get a big boat and a whining snowmobile, someday too. Though it never came to be with the snow machine, I did own a modest-sized motorboat with my son, Tommy. And whenever I was on the water with that thing, I always thought about that summer day on the lake with Uncle Pete and Aunt Barbara.
We cannot forget those times when Uncle Pete and Aunt Barbara would take turns and host the various holiday gatherings in their basement, including the Thanksgiving and Christmas parties. And yes...and it goes without saying that during the winter holidays, the TV set was "always" tuned to a football game. There were many good times down there in "la bascia 'o sela" (all with Aunt Barbara's help and hard work, of course). Even though there were family parties on Joanne's side of the family, I always found a way to get Joanne to accompany me to their place, both before and after we got married. OK...next important question: Who was the long-reigning photographer king in the Lostocco family?...you know what I mean...King Shutterbug? C'mon guess. Yes, you're right. Uncle Pete was always the one that had the camera in our faces, snapping family candids at a rate so fast that the flash bulbs seemed to permanently blind us. He couldn't help but to make us laugh for the camera lens. Oh yeah, and then Uncle Pete was the guy who "always" brought out the slide projector to show all those crazy photos during the next family get-together. It was so much fun to sit through each viewing session and wildly comment on the people in each photo. We all laughed, although sometimes we cried when we had to see the "same" slide photos as we saw "last" time we were over. Ah, we just laughed some more.
My last remembrance of Uncle Pete was another fantastic one. It happened as part of a long discussion with him and Aunt Barbara during late-August 2001 (just after attending my niece/Godchild's wedding in Massachusetts). We talked about many nostalgic things, including: the old times, their Vermont home, their young grandchildren, his many diverse projects, relaxing at their backyard swimming pool, my active genealogy interests, my Uncle Guerino -- who was his older brother -- and noting here for others that Guerino is my middle name for namesake purposes, which of course Uncle Pete already knew. I wanted old pictures and anything else he might know about Uncle Guerino. But he said that Grandma may have thrown them out, as she never got over the sadness of Guerino's death (or maybe she boxed them up for the attic -- unfortunately, I received little from him, but I must remember that Uncle Pete was only about 7 years old when Guerino eagerly left during the latter part of his Senior year at Farmington High School for his overseas Army assignment). We also talked extensively about the Lenolese Italian Society Club in Farmington and his relatively new position as Club Vice President and all his involvements there and the recent Club party and the things he was now doing and those he was going to do in the future to improve the Club. Heck, he was a darn good salesman too, as I wanted to sign up as a Club member right there on the spot. (Actually, I have always wanted to be a member of that darn club since the early days when I saw Grandpa become the bocce champ there -- but the long distance from my home in Florida was far too preventative to do so.) Let's see...we also talked about Grandpa's old 1929 Lenolese Club inauguration photograph and the great deal it means to me, and how I would love to own the original photo. I brought up the status of Gramp's former house on Central Street and the ever-growing garden in the back yard (we all know how Uncle Pete loved to mimic Grandpa's gardening ways, but not necessarily Grandpa's garden yields -- hey Uncle Pete, you know I'm only kidding now). We concluded by talking about his never-ending caretaker chores at that house, the recent and destructive house fire was started (accidentally) by the tenants, and of course, that led to discussions on some of Gramp's peculiar cantankerous ways, and so much other good stuff, too. As you can tell, it was another special visit for me. He and Aunt Barbara were always easy to talk to, and over his years, Uncle Pete never seemed to raise his voice with anything small or anything critical...at least never in my presence!! Uncle Pete was definitely an easygoing man...a proud man...and certainly an action man...a good husband father...and a loving and caring grandfather. I may have said this a couple times before, but it's worth another shout only 'cause it's true.
My most significant memory has to be the one when I was age 9, and I have saved that one for last. We were having a catch in Grandpa's back yard. Well, Grandpa came over to us and started asking me questions like: "What do I want to be when I grow up?" I proudly quipped, "A baseball player, of course." Grandpa just raised his graying eyebrows and growled back saying, "What do you want to do that for? There's no good living to be made in baseball." Uncle Pete quickly spoke up in my behalf, and told Grandpa how the best ballplayers (like Mickey Mantle) were starting to make real good money, etc. Uncle Pete really was totally encouraging for me...and never discouraging. (That was always the way for me.) Then, after we were through playing "catch", I remember Uncle Pete giving me his old-time baseball glove because he knew I was going to begin practice tryouts soon in the nearby Forestville Little League. Honestly, what a generous act!! His baseball glove was one of those old dark-brown ragged things, with thick fingers, and a very small "pocket" in the middle...you know the one...it was possibly a glove that Babe Ruth might have used in 1927. At that most impressionable young age, I simply adored that glove, even though it was truly obsolete the moment he gave me it. I'll never forget all the time he spent with me that day. You know...before I moved to Florida in 1987, I returned that vintage glove to Uncle Pete as a token of my earlier appreciation of him, with hopes that he too would appreciate that particular moment with me. I would love to get that ol' glove back right now, just to put in on my shelf as a small remembrance of Uncle Pete...as well as my earlier times with him.
Anyway, the nicest part of Uncle Pete is that I know he did for others, what he did for me (only, it was a hundred-fold). We all learned so much from him over those many fond years he was with us. I can only imagine how intense the memories are for those who are even closer to him, than I. My final message to him is this: "Hey Uncle Pete...I know you are reading this note as I type it. And I know you will continue to watch over us as the years go by. With that said, 'May God bless you, Uncle Pete, and may it be many more times greater than you ever blessed all of us.' And I am certain God will do that. Please say 'hi' to Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Guerino, Aunt Lina, Great Grandpa Pietro, and all the others for me. Remember this much...you can have a baseball catch with me ANYTIME! Hope to see you soon! And this time, I'll bring both the baseball...and the gloves." Your loving nephew ----->> Larry
Showing 1 - 1 of 1 results
Make a Donation
in Peter Lostocco's name
Memorial Events
for Peter Lostocco
How to support Peter's loved ones
Honor a beloved veteran with a special tribute of ‘Taps’ at the National WWI Memorial in Washington, D.C.
The nightly ceremony in Washington, D.C. will be dedicated in honor of your loved one on the day of your choosing.
Read more
Should I Send Sympathy Flowers?
What kind of arrangement is appropriate, where should you send it, and when should you send an alternative?
Read more
What Should I Write in a Sympathy Card?
We'll help you find the right words to comfort your family member or loved one during this difficult time.
Read moreResources to help you cope with loss
Estate Settlement Guide
If you’re in charge of handling the affairs for a recently deceased loved one, this guide offers a helpful checklist.
Read more
Obituaries, grief & privacy: Legacy’s news editor on NPR podcast
Legacy's Linnea Crowther discusses how families talk about causes of death in the obituaries they write.
Read more
The Five Stages of Grief
They're not a map to follow, but simply a description of what people commonly feel.
Read moreWays to honor Peter Lostocco's life and legacy
Obituary Examples
You may find these well-written obituary examples helpful as you write about your own family.
Read more
Obituary Templates – Customizable Examples and Samples
These free blank templates make writing an obituary faster and easier.
Read more
How Do I Write a Eulogy?
Some basic help and starters when you have to write a tribute to someone you love.
Read more
Sponsored