Eulogy – Michael Nocera

My dad, Michael Nocera, was born in Bayridge, Brooklyn New York on October 16, 1940.  His parents were Frank and Antoinette Nocera.  He was one of three children.  He is survived by his older sister Diana Miscura.  His younger sibling, Frank passed away in July 1999.  Our dad grew up in Brooklyn.  He loved everything about Brooklyn except for the traffic.  One of his favorite movies was the recently released movie “Brooklyn” which we just watched together last week.  He graduated from William E. Grady High School and spent two years in the U.S. Navy working in the Construction Battalion, “the Seabees”.

Dad began an electrical apprenticeship with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Local 3, following in the footsteps of his father Frank.  He worked as an electrician for 41 years and was forced to retire early due to an accident in 2001.  His dream was always to retire and live on a golf course in Florida.  My parents relocated to Florida in 2005 and in 2007 they purchased dad's dream home on Turtle Mound Golf Course at Day Lily Run.

Dad's happiest moments was when he was attending family functions, catching up with loved ones, watching his grandchildren grow up, and going on vacations with his wife, children and grandchildren.  Dad loved adventure and taught us at a young age about the benefits of travelling.  He took us to Canada, the Bahamas, Italy and all around the USA.  My dad believed in working hard all year round so he could take his family on one good vacation each year.  And we all looked forward to that annual vacation so much.  We experienced so much with dad; camping, fishing, ice-skating, chopping wood, building fences and fixing cars.  My dad knew how to do everything and fix anything.  He also taught my brother and I had to drive.  In fact he taught us so much that we always looked upon him as our teacher.

Dad always had to work hard for everything he had.  When he was out of work as an electrician, he started up a hot dog truck in Brooklyn and also drove cab's just to make ends meet.   He was an excellent provider, always made sure we were taken care of and had everything we needed.  As a kid, I remember waking up at 4.30 am and hearing him get ready for work.  He was an inspiration to my brother and I.  Our work ethics were derived from our father.

I always admired how my dad kept in touch with his friends from the 1950’s and I remember how happy it made him to reconnect with them on the phone or to have a get together with them.  These lifelong friendships were so very precious to him.

My dad loved watching documentaries, current affairs, animal programs...he was a lifelong learner, always had a desire to learn more and to continually educate himself.  He was so knowledgeable about world events and history.  I was always amazed at how he could remember so much and how he seemed to know everything about everything.

Dad is survived by his 5 grand-children: Anastasia, Mikey, Teresa, Michael and Andrew.  He was very proud of all of his grandchildren.  He enjoyed driving them around in his golf cart, attending their sporting events and going on vacations with them.  We just had the pleasure of celebrating Andrew's First Holy Communion on Saturday May 7th, 2016.  My dad was surrounded by his loved ones just before he passed away.  I am sure his mind and heart were full of the beautiful memories we had together on that very special day.

My dad will be missed by many and there will always be an ache in our hearts, tears in our eyes, a huge void in our lives, but he will live on forever in our minds, hearts and souls.  We are grateful to have him for as long as we did, although of course we wish it was much longer.  We are thankful for the wonderful memories that we have of him and for all he taught us and inspired us to do.

Rest in peace dad, our mentor, our hero, our very dearest friend.  We love you always and forever.  Your family, friends and neighbors.

Written and read by Cathy Nocera, May 12, 2016, Brooklyn, New  York