handwritten on March 8, 2021
Dick Leous Eulogy
My name is Peter Rizzo, a very close friend of the Leous Family. On behalf of the Leous family, thank you all for joining us for today’s liturgical celebration as we offer prayers for the soul of Dick Leous—a friend, brother, uncle, grandfather, father, and husband. It is my honor and privilege to read the following eulogy written by Dick’s loving children.
Dad grew up on Colton Drive in Buffalo, in a most loving household, with his mother and father, his brothers, Roger and Oppy, and his sister, “Sis.” He adored his family and was equally passionate about all that life had to offer. He loved music and took piano lessons as a child—he could play any song by ear. He...
handwritten on March 8, 2021
(1 - Bri)
A Slice of Heaven
As humble as your heart was
Pure and quiet and sweet
Your love of words spoke loudly
Words that stirred deeply in your heart through prayer
flying on angel’s wings
Words that came from your soul and touched the souls of your children, your wife, your grandchildren and every living person that was lucky enough to see your heart and the threads of gold woven true
Words that you captured and carried with you from your football days and stories of the olden days as you called them
those words that were actually secret memories that you carried with you all those years because you took every beautiful word that was ever spoken by you, to you, for you, with you...
handwritten on February 15, 2021
When you wake up
and read something new
and you knew you didn't know it all
and you still don't know it all
it feels like every time you discover what you have
been doing wrong
or teaching wrong
or learning wrong
you go backwards down
the steps into a place that just SCREAMS
you need to learn more
and so you open up a new book and read something
new
and you've discovered that what you thought you knew the first time
wasn't right either
But that's progress
going backwards down the steps
and then sometimes heading in the right direction
Your souls may be worn but
at least they are trying to go in the right direction
the better direction
the healing direction
two steps back and one step...
handwritten on January 25, 2021
Our classroom created magic today
and it wasn't just a classroom magic moment but simply a magic moment
and if we are alive as humans-we know those magic moments are so pure and so rare
unforgettable
About ten years ago when I decided I would embark upon a vocation as a teacher, I remember pondering it
within my soul and wondering
why I had such a yearning to be such
when there were so many other vocations out there
and I remember trying to explain it to someone like this
if you have ever been in an ensemble, you know the magic that occurs when every individual is playing their own melody
but that melody no longer becomes their own when the response becomes a collective action
and a...
handwritten on December 25, 2020
Well I think it's safe to say that picking a title for 2020 that reads: 365 miles of clarity is now nothing more than a laugh. Because 2020 has been anything but clear. But through the muddiness, the heartache and global and emotional devastation of this pandemic, perhaps there has never been a year that has been more clear. They say sometimes absence makes the heart grow fonder. In this case, I think absence of "normal" created stronger more empathetic and beautiful hearts. So this year was clear. Clear in terms of who we are. Clear in terms of our dreams. Clear in terms of what we value as people. Clear in terms of humanity. Clear in terms of what we long for socially and emotionally as...
