Joseph DiRaimo Foundation
My father Joseph DiRaimo, was a kind and generous man that gave back his whole life.
He was the most wonderful husband, father, grandfather and brother anyone could have had.
He touched us all with his words of wisdom, and most of all by his actions.
On his death bed, he said his biggest regret was that he did not contribute.
I said he did through his daughter's.
I am here to make his dreams come alive with love.
The Joseph DiRaimo Foundation will have regular raffles, will sell a particular product, where 100% of the proceeds will go to the foundation.
100% of the money will go to charitable organizations, or people in need due to crisis or circumstances.
This is volunteered driven. No one will be paid for their services.
All money will be given back. This is what he would want.
His wife, brothers and sisters, daughters and grandchildren have all been blessed with haven known and grown up with him.
We miss you, but I feel you always.
I am not sad, but happy as you loved to laugh and sing and dance to the end.
You were a true artist, creating inventions and paintings.
I am not the writer like my sisters, or our children are, but I love you always.
Melanie DiRaimo Vasseur
His last words to me were that I gave up too soon regarding my songs . He would be proud that I have written 40 great songs and am working on a travel book called "Anything from the mini bar?"
Dad contributed a tremendous deal by joining the Merchant Marines (he was rejected due to poor eyesight) but he memorized the eye chart and was accepted and served by delivering munitions to the front in WW11. All his life he gave money to anyone who asked. The homeless, friends and family. My songs have captured just a small fraction of what he contributed. When he had an art exhibition in 1996 he was so proud and gave people his art works that they admired. Good luck with the foundation.
Love and peace,
Linda
To Dad
Beautiful Poems
Love Linda
Father's Day
It's been over two long years
since you have left our side
We think of you everyday
with tears we cannot hide
You promised that we'd forget you,
as soon as you were gone.
But somehow it never happened
It's hard to carry on.
Maturity comes with losses
and sadness brings pain,
the pain that we all are feeling
knowing we won't see you again.
But the tempo of this song changes
as we remember you at your best
Painting scenes of our family gatherings,
capturing our happiness.
Let the laughter and joy continue,
as we celebrate your life.
We will always be your sweet daughters
and your warm and loving wife.
A Father's Eyes
On a beautiful, early fall day
you were taken from us
The sun shined brightly
as did your eyes
for every time I looked
into your eyes
I saw hope and encouragement
and all possibilities
From you I felt I could achieve
the most challenging tasks
In your eyes, I was
the greatest person to walk
the face of the Earth
Now that you are no longer with us
I must remember your eyes
For even in death
I looked into your eyes and saw
Utopia
What good does it do?
What good does it do for me to miss a father who once was here?
His kindness, his smile, encouragement, his manner was so sincere
On that October day, it was sunny and bright
With your final "Our Father" you kissed us goodnight
If memories are all I have, remember I will
I'll remember your face at the top of the hill
saying "Linda, you can do it" and you held out your hand
I made my first steps like the queen of the land
A World War II hero who memorized the eye chart
joined the Merchant Marines to defeat Hitler's plot
Loving father, loving husband till
sweet grandfather who painted us with skill
You made us sparkle in season's past
but it couldn't last
I planted a tree outside my door, a plum tree that grew so tall
I noticed that it's first bloom, and the last for the leaves to fall
Charity and compassion for all human beings
and you taught us the lesson to follow our dreams
Five years have gone by and I miss you so
I can still hear the words that you said long ago
You said "Linda, you can do it" so I wrote down this song
to rejoice in your memory as I live on
That's what good it does
It's good, it's good, so good
It's good, it's goooood
How does one judge who is the best father in the world.
I read about the writer of the early 1900's Virginia Woolf and her
father Stephen Wallace. He gave Virginia the opportunity to grow
mentally in an environment where men predominated. She had a Room of
Her Own.
My father was that and more.
Joe Diraimo told me and my three sisters " Women are superior ". As a
young girl growing up I thought this was a strange concept. How could I
be superior to men. He was the only man among four women.
He grew up in East Harlem, a young Italian where there was a strong
Mafia influence. He resisted the influence of his peers.He swam in the
East River with his brothers and his mom when she caught them would
punish them. My uncle would tell me in those days there were many
items floating in the East River like dead horses. They loved swimming
there.
Was it there that he learned that men were too violent and not thinking
? He was so smart but his dad did not want him to go to college. He
was told he had to work. His dad Luigi was violent and would strike
his children. His dad worked on many jobs . One job was to make the
subways of New York. His dad got off a ship from Italy a
nd never went
back.
There were many young girls in the neighborhood at that time but my dad
wanted to wait for that one special woman.
He met my mom who was studying at Cathedral High School. She is from
Puerto Rico and Cuba. He mom sent her and her two sister Hugolina to
study English. My Puerto Rican grandmother was a strong woman that
even though her Cuban husband was a womanizer she accepted him back
into the family.
My dad was always reading and that is my inheritance today his books of
wisdom. Bertrum Russell,
In 1987 when my first child was born I had to decide how I would have my child cared for. My father just retired and he said he would care for her.
I was teaching at The City College of New York at that time and only 3 times a week.. He and my mom were living in Astoria . My Mom was still working.
My dad starting commuting to Inwood 3 days a week.
My husband and I thought maybe we could buy a house with my parents. Their rent kept going up.
We found a house and bought it in 1988. Antoinette was only 6 months old.
It was here I came to appreciate my father.
My dad would say parents were always superfluous. I guess he was right at the time he said it. I never thought anything special about my Dad. But living with him made me recall some of his wise thoughts when I was growing up.
Man is not civilized . War is insanity. People are starving in the world were always his responses to any of anyone's complaints. We would go for walks together and my husband would say home with our daughter on the weekends.
Susan Diraimo
We (Melanie, Susan and Linda) would welcome the opportunity to earn your trust and deliver you the best service in the industry.
Location:
9557 Adolphia Street
San Diego, CA 92129
Hours:
Mon - Fri: 9AM - 5PM
Sat: 10AM - 5PM
Cash or Check donations by mail to Vasseur International Inc. address above or by credit card in $1.00 increments below: