Yesterday we attended the funeral of a dear man and uncle – Ralph Giraldi. There was a large crowd that attended – somewhere around 500 people – at the Langstaff Gospel Hall. Ralph was a man who made a big impact in a lot of lives and those who spoke did a wonderful job of recounting this.
Those who took part at the service where his two brothers (Lou and Marcel), his son (Vince) and an elder (and close friend) from the Fairbank assembly. At the graveside, our brother (Ralph’s nephew) Andrew spoke encouraging words from 1 Thessalonians chapter 4.
From the service, a few of the memorable things that were said stuck out:
- from Vince: He never complained about his job (which was a forklift driver at Facial Royale) even though it was demanding and long (12 hours days).
- from Marcel: Generous – their door was always open to anyone. Whether it was someone for a meal on Sunday afternoon or taking care of family members who were in the city for schooling. He lived the truth of Acts 20:35.
- Lastly, it was recounted of our last visit to see him before he passed – a couple of Saturday’s ago. Ralph was very weak at this time and during our brief visit was unable to stay awake for to long. However, as we prepared to leave, Julia went to his bedside to say goodbye, and as she did he put his hands on her womb and sang “Jesus Loves Me” to the little boy inside. That is a memory we will never forget.
