This past week, my beloved grandpa passed away suddenly due to a heart attack. Although the paramedics were able to re-start his heart, the damage had been done to his brain, due to a lack of oxygen. My grandpa, Louie Silvello, would be celebrating his 78th birthday this coming August 8th. This sudden death really reminded me of just how quickly life can come to an end and how important it is to tell the important people in our lives how much they mean to us. I am so happy that I was able to see him while visiting family in Thorold last week. I returned to Ottawa this past Monday after visiting family and returned two days later at the sad news of my grandpa’s death. As he was in good health, aside from the aches and pains of old age, none of us were expecting this and so it was quite a shock to all of us.
I know he would have wanted to go the way he did–peacefully and surrounded by his family. He did not suffer and for that, we are thankful. My brother and I decided to be in the room with him as he took his last breath, as it was too difficult for his daughters (my mom and my aunt) and for my grandma to be there for that. Adam and I held his hands as they took him off life support. It was really peaceful and I am happy that we were there with him, as I’m sure he would have been as well. Just before he passed on, I felt a gentle squeeze of his hand. The doctors say this was likely his muscles reacting to the deprivation of oxygen, however, I believe in my heart that it was my grandpa saying goodbye.
The days following were also tough, as we were required to make all the necessary arrangements. It was very strange helping my grandma choose a casket, but it had to be done. The wake was only one day, thankfully. Seeing him in the casket for the first time, was really upsetting, but he looked peaceful. There were so many friends, loved ones and family who came to the visitation. My grandpa was so loved by so many. We know he went straight to heaven and is probably already made friends with the big Guy 
During the wake, we played a movie tribute to honour my grandpa’s life. My brother spent the entire day creating, filming and editing this beautiful story of his life. He must have spent 26+ hours on this project. It means so much to all of us, because it is truly touching and rich in symbolic details that illstrate perfectly the passions, interests and details of our grandpa. The video is composed of old photos and video footage set to music that he loved, as well as a moving re-creation of the things he did and enjoyed. Adam asked a friend to play the role of grandpa which really makes for a wonderful tribute to honour his life. Adam did not leave out a single detail–he includes everything from the sweater he always wore to the way he walked and carried his glasses. Not to mention, he matched all the footage up to match the lyrics of the song “Further on up the Road” by Johnny Cash, one of grandpa’s favourites. The song is perfect (and will now forever remind me of grandpa) and the imagery is powerful. This truly is a gift and I know my grandpa would have LOVED this. He would be proud.
I would encourage you to view the video, it is wonderful. We definitely shed many tears watching this. (The little girl with the Barbie car is me. You’ll also see him walking me down the hall)
Click on the screenshot below and give it some time to load so that you can watch it without skips–best viewed full screen.
The toughest part for most of us it seemed was the actual funeral. Saying our final goodbyes and following the hearse to the church was pretty sad. The procession of cars behind us was incredible–a testament to how wonderful a person my grandpa was. We knew there was a reason that the sun was shining on Saturday. He meant so much to so many–a loving husband and father, a brother an uncle to many nephews and neices, a friend and of course, our grandpa. He will be sadly missed.
The day I found out that grandpa was in the hospital, I jumped on the first plane home. The flight, which was only supposed to take 45 min from Ottawa, was delayed by 2hrs because of rain and thunderstorms. While I was sitting there, getting impatient and thinking about how badly I wanted to get home to be with my grandpa, I started to think about what I would want to say in his eulogy (at this point, I had already been informed that last rites were going to be performed). I wasn’t sure who would say it, but I knew that I wanted to. It didn’t take long for me to come up with something special and listening attentively to family and friends reminisce only helped me put all the ideas together. I read this at the committal ceremony ( or the enterrment) at Lakeview Mausoleum in Thorold, where he was laid to rest.
Here is my tribute to my grandpa and I have also included a few more photos below this.
Grandpa’s eulogy—August 1st, 2009
If there’s one important life lesson that we learn from the sudden death of a loved one is that every day is a gift and thus should be cherished. It may sound cliché but it’s true– life is too short so we need to live each day to the fullest and strive to live each day as if it were our last.
When I learned of the sudden passing of my beloved grandpa, I experienced a flood of emotion: shock and sadness at the loss of such an amazing person and even more wonderful grandfather, followed by happiness and laughter at the many wonderful memories that came to mind.
Everyone in this room knows that grandpa would not want us to be sitting here today in sadness. If this were for someone else, he’d probably be the one to make a witty joke that would lighten the mood. Through the tears, comes laughter.
That said, my approach to this eulogy is not one of mourning and sadness, but rather laughter and happiness and of course celebration of a great man.
I thought the best way to talk about grandpa would be from a teacher’s perspective as I believe that grandpa himself was a great teacher. He taught us many important lessons in the most effective manner: he was a living example of how to live the good life. So I would like to call this: everything I learned in life, I learned from my grandpa.
Lesson # 1: Be nice. Two very simple words with such great importance and impact. Grandpa treated everything and everyone with the respect and dignity they deserve—even the birds deserved to eat! I truly believe that he is up there right now, throwing bread to the birds! Grandpa never uttered a bad word about anyone and clearly there is nothing bad you could say about him. No matter who you were or where you came from, you would always receive the same respect and treatment from grandpa.
Lesson #2—everyone needs to own a cat—feed it when it’s hungry and pet it when it wants love. Grandpa loved his cats and they brought him so much joy—Mackie, Cheetah and now Sampson—who even in his short time with grandma and grandpa, already formed a strong affinity for grandpa.
Lesson #3: Go to church, say your prayers, ask for forgiveness and forgive others. Grandpa practiced what he preached and was the living example of Gospel values. I believe that my faith is as strong as it is today because of his good example. And while I will never be able to say grace before meals as quickly as him, I will always try to say my prayers with as much conviction as he did.
Lesson #4: Don’t worry, be happyJ Anyone who knew grandpa can attest to the fact that he was always happy and always smiling. Quick with a witty line or funny story (even if we heard them more than once) Grandpa never failed to make you laugh. His smile lit up a room and his laughter was contagious. I still smile thinking about how he would laugh so hard, he would cry—now that is genuine happiness!
Lesson #5: Be humble and always put others before yourself. Grandpa was never boastful, proud or arrogant. He always showed concern for the well being of others—even if they were total strangers.
Lesson #6: Always keep $5 in your wallet and some change in your pocket—you never know when you’ll have to give your last $5 bill away (Grandpa liked to jiggle his change, which drove my aunt Gina crazy, so we put some in his pockets for him)—oh and make sure to “bring food” when you visit your loved ones!
Lesson #7: Make time for music—As we all know and saw in Adam’s wonderful video tribute, Grandpa loved to play his guitar. It always made me smile to watch him play and to hear him sing. One of my fondest memories, which was actually pretty recent, was watching him and Andrew play together. It was the simplest of moments, but those ones are the most important after all. Everything my grandpa did, he did with passion. How could you not smile being in his presence?
Lesson #8: Always take some time to stop and smell the roses—I will always think of my grandpa when I see a rose—he loved roses and he loved his gardens. I’m sure that my love of flowers stems from his passion for gardening and I’m sure that in Grandpa’s heaven, he is surrounded by the flowers that he loved.
Lesson #9: Count your blessings, don’t add up your problems. Grandpa rarely complained and when we did, he was quick to remind us that other people have it much worse. He taught us to have gratitude for the blessings in our lives, not to dwell on what we don’t have.
Lesson #10: Always celebrate the real reason for the season—whether it was Easter, Thanksgiving or Christmas (Grandpa loved Christmas), grandpa showed us that the real reason to celebrate any holiday was gathering with loved ones (usually around a table). It was not that gifts that were important, but rather the time spent together—the presence of family is gift enough. I miss Sunday night dinners with my grandparents. It was only spaghetti and meatballs, but it was tradition. I still eat my salad in my pasta bowl with the leftover sauce like grandpa used to do.
Lesson #11: my last one—don’t take yourself too seriously. Growing up with my mom and Aunt Gina, you learned to develop a thick skin as practical jokes and gag gifts were the norm. No matter how silly the gift—such as a ball cap covered in $5 bills or a box of food, grandpa always found them hilarious. He was never afraid to look silly and never took himself too seriously. Grandpa was a down to earth and fun loving guy.
I’m sure that many of us today could come up with many more life lessons that when we consider how my grandpa lived his life, however, it is time to move on.
I think it would be appropriate to end this with a few of grandpa’s well known send offs, such as:
If I don’t see you through the week, I’ll see you through the window,
If I don’t see you around, I’ll see you square and of course y’all come back now.
Rest in peace grandpa, one day we will see you again, until then, know that your memory remains forever in our hearts. Your work here on earth is complete and God needed you to be with Him, so we say goodbye to you and thank you for being the wonderful human being that you were. Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God. Grandpa, we love you and God bless you.
Here are a few more pictures of grandpa and our family
I love this one, taken at my mom’s wedding–my grandma is actually smiling (with her teeth!) They look so darn sweet together
From that same day, taken outside the church (yes, I was freezing!) with the whole family
Taken a few Christmases ago–Adam, myself and my grandparents (You may recognize the sweater from the video)
A special moment at my weddding–the dollhouse my grandpa presented me. I cried like a baby! He had been promising to build me a dollhouse since I was little and we always teased him about when he would get it done and then I was surprised with this dollhouse at the wedding….very special memory from the wedding and I’m so happy he was with us to celebrate that day.
Here is a detail of the house—I don’t have a good photo of it from the wedding
Goodbye grandpa, we all miss you already 
Our memories of you will forever keep us smiling 
