Today, 71 years ago, my mom and dad were married at St. Rosalia’s Church in Pittsburgh, PA. My maternal grandmother died when my mom was 12 years old and my maternal grandfather had died several years before my mom got married. So my dad had to pass the muster with the parish pastor, Fr Coglin, who was just not going to let any Tom, Dick, or Harry marry my mom, Regina, or “Queenie” as she was affectionally known. Dad pass the test and mom and dad were married early in the morning on June 11th (because of a 12 hour fast before receiving holy communion at that time, most wedding Masses were early in the morning … it was not good form to faint from hunger during your wedding).
Their life together would lead them from Pittsburgh to Chicago, to St Paul, MN, back to Chicago and finally back to St. Paul. Along the way, my brother, Bill, myself, and my sister, Mary Ruth, were born. Like all married couples, they had their challenges in life, but their love for one another and their faith in God helped them through all the challenges they faced. The love and compassion they had for each other formed how I approached the relationships in my life. What I learned and experienced in my father’s love and devotion to my mother, I have brought into my relationship with the love of my life, Ruthie. I have so much for which to be thankful on this great day in their life, and subsequently, this great day in my own life.
Many years ago, I composed a setting of a psalm as a present for them. In 2018, shortly after my the death of my mother, I recomposed that psalm setting just for piano. As a musical prayer of thanksgiving for their lives, I present here, again, as a sign of my love and devotion to two people who loved and shaped my life so marvelously.
