I wrote and read this tribute for my grandfather’s vigil service on November 21, 2022.
I share this on behalf of my siblings—Joshua, Sarah, and Nathan—, my cousins—Dominic, Ashley, and Jocelyn—, and myself.
Introduction
The Lord is sovereign over all aspects of life, and one of those areas is how long we have on earth to spend with our family. When someone’s time is up, we must move on and thank God for putting that person into our lives. When I was born on October 18, 2002, Tom Riso, my Nonno, became a grandfather, and he took great joy in investing in my life and in the lives of my siblings and cousins for the next twenty years. Tonight, with Thanksgiving only a few days away, I want to share the memories that we experienced with Nonno and give thanks to Yahweh God for blessing us with our time with him.
Memories with Nonno
Family was important to Nonno, and his grandchildren were no exception. He was always at all the family events, including birthday parties, graduations, concerts, and more. Even in the mundane, he showed he loved us in giving us rides to and from school and taking us to different appointments as needed. Holding Joshua’s hand while taking him to preschool meant that Nonno had a little handwarmer when the weather got chilly! He also spent much time babysitting my siblings and me in addition to my cousins Dominic and Ashley. While babysitting Ashley, Nonno would read books with her. Until he was no longer able, he would make lunches for us and take them to our house. Whenever we would visit him, food was an appreciated part of the experience!
Nonno also loved the fine arts and would invest in our talents so that we could thrive. Joshua took a few art classes. Sarah took ballet classes. Both Sarah and Nathan did gymnastics. All these activities were thanks to the support of Nonno and his willingness to drive them there. While I personally did not do any such activities, he provided art supplies so that my siblings, my cousins, and I could color and paint; those pictures often ended up on his wall.
Nonno delighted in taking us on trips. Several times he took us to San Francisco to hear the San Francisco Symphony perform. One time he took Joshua and me to the de Young Museum, and the last time that he went to San Francisco was October of last year when he took Sarah, my friend Ryan, and me to the Asian Art Museum. Had I been interested when he was still able, he would have gladly taken me to Symphony Hall a few more times and to a few San Francisco Giants games. Nonno also took us numerous times to Monterey, where we would see the Pacific Ocean and the world-famous Monterey Bay Aquarium. On one of those aquarium trips, my curious little self pulled the fire alarm, giving everyone a startle!
Nonno also demonstrated his love in the gifts he gave us to pursue our interests. Sarah is the animal lover in the family, and according to her, his greatest gift to her was Deej, one of her leopard geckos. Additionally, I grew up when the Giants won the World Series three times, and Nonno, being a Giants fan, influenced me into becoming a fan. Upon moving to college in Los Angeles Dodgers territory, Nonno bought me a Giants hat to show all the Dodgers fans at my school. One of the biggest gifts Nonno gave me was not a physical item but letting me live with him last summer where I could spend his final summer with him while I focused on my summer classes. Nonno did all these things for us not out of obligation but out of love for us, desiring us to do our best in school and our talents.
Perhaps the most precious moments with Nonno were my last moments with him. The Lord, in His Providence, gave me the opportunity to see Nonno in his final days. I got to see him while he was awake and show him my driver’s license, which he saw me working on obtaining all summer. More importantly, I got to recall to him all these precious memories I just mentioned. On his last day here on earth, he wasn’t awake, but I said my final goodbye. I thanked him for our time together and reminded him of the Gospel. I reminded him that we are all sinners against God’s Law and deserve eternal punishment and suffering in hell, but that Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead for the sins of all who would believe in Him by grace through faith so that they would never perish but have eternal life. I reminded him that the Gospel is the reason why after he would pass away, he would have no more pain or tears but would be with the Lord as described in Revelation 21 and 2 Corinthians 5. After sharing this, I prayed for him and, crying, I uttered my final words to him. “I have to go now. Goodbye, Nonno. I love you. I’ll see you on the other side of eternity.” A little under six hours later, I was back at my college in Southern California when I received the call that Nonno had passed away.
Thanksgiving to Yahweh
Twenty years is how long I got to spend with Nonno, and we must never forget what a gift that he was to all of us. Psalm 136:1 (LSB) says, “Give thanks to Yahweh, for He is good, / For His lovingkindness endures forever.” Every moment that we got to spend with Nonno is a demonstration of God’s goodness and love for us. God gave my siblings, my cousins, and me each day of life that we have. He gave Nonno 28,775 days, and I was around for 7,324 of those days. Thanks be to Yahweh God, for giving us this precious time together, and glory be to the Lord Jesus Christ, who paid for our sins so that one day, I will once again see my dearly beloved Nonno in the presence of our God and King.
From the grandchildren, thank you, Lord Yahweh, for giving us Thomas Riso as our grandfather.
