This handsome man is the one I call Papa.  The one with the really long Italian name–Calogero Antonio Rosario Arcadipane. But lovingly knows as just “Charlie”. He was taken Home into the lovely arms of Jesus yesterday morning. He was 91. My grandma has been waiting for him here since 2004, and he’s getting there just in time to celebrate what would have been her 90th birthday on this earth–in two days.

He was a man with a big heart–he was loving and smelled like cologne and always started a conversation with, “Praise God, Hallelujah!”. He couldn’t pronounce the word cinnamon and instead called it cimmanon. He called me Betny. He loved white shirts and in nearly any picture you see of him in his earlier days, he’s wearing a white t-shirt or a white dress shirt. He had a giant sweet tooth, and he loved my grandma’s cooking. And pretty much anything that was junk food.  He adored hats, and wore them all the time. My grandma used to tell him that’s why he lost all the hair on the top of his head. He was as generous as they come and was constantly donating money to different organizations. He absolutely loved Italian opera music.

He looked nearly the same for about thirty years, and had a mustache for as long as I knew him. We have a bajillion pictures of him with cake. My mom is a strong believer in making sure there is a cake for every occasion, and she always took a picture of it. Birthday, Retirement, Going away to florida . . . you name it.

My grandfather is a World War II Veteran. He served bravely, and somehow we have a bunch of pictures from that time period, which thankfully I was able to have in my possession for awhile so I could snap some pictures of the pictures. That’s a bonus of having a nice camera!

So thankful to have had him in my life, and happy that he lived a full, long and amazing life. Rest in Peace, Papa!