I had a dream the other night that I want to share with you. I’ll never understand why we dream what we do, I suspect Kenny’s sudden passing has served to remind me of my own mortality and this was on my mind. Anyway, while I do not recall all the details of my dream, I do remember standing outside the gates of heaven. As I looked in, I saw Kenneth there with a man, the man’s back was towards me so I could not see who it was. He was talking with Kenny and had an arm around his shoulder. After a while, they started to walk away. As they did the man turned and I could see who it was…Uncle Tony Gentile. He nodded and smiled as if to say everything will be all right…then they both headed off together. I guess the Lord has a special place for all his athletes and Uncle Tony was taking Kenneth there.
It is at times like these, that I wished we all lived closer together to be with our family. And while we cannot see each other, rest assured of my thoughts and prayers for both of you. I wish I had cousin Alex’s gift for prose and could put into poetic form more thoughts and reflections about Kenny. My feeble attempt yields only the following…
“…For his loving parents, oh how incomplete their dream,
may they find solace in the Lord, for Kenneth now stars for His team.
He dons the earthly pads no more, all strife and worries gone for sure,
For he now lives at peace with the chosen few,
the example of his life leaving each of us so much more to do.”
With Loving Sympathy, I pray that The Lord will bless you both.
Love , cousin Richard DelViscio, February 16, 1998
* The above was written by Richard to my parents a few days before Kenny’s memorial mass. My great Uncle Tony Gentile was a great athlete, he was a tremendous swimmer and a professional hand ball player among other things. He played in the national handball championship held in Chicago in 1948. My beloved Uncle Alex was a gifted writer and poet, who penned about 30 poems, mostly about his family and growing up in South Philly, sports and WWII. He was the glue that connected our extended family and to this day we still have family reunions on my Gentile family side, which is my Father’s mother family of origin. I am blessed to have loving and close ties with both sides of my family tree. Thank you Richard for writing this tribute to Kenny, it meant more than you will ever know to my father and mother.
As the World Meeting of Families approaches I feel the above piece is so very relevant to our times and all times. Pope St. John Paull II instituted WMOF in 1994 to strengthen families. Let us strengthen one another and sharpen one another in and through our faith in God and incessant prayer continually!
Charles DeFeo: Catholic Blogger and Useless Servant of Christ 
Thank you, beautifully said.
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