Monday, May 20, 2024
Sometimes the news of a death causes us to stop for a moment. He wasn't a big part of my life, I probably saw him no more than a few dozen times. But he was there at important times.
Franklin D'Aurizio helped arrange my adoption and became my parents' attorney for the rest of their lives and his career. I was his 2nd adoption. He told me (and later my birth mother also told me) how difficult it was to remove me from my birth mother's arms, a hysterical young woman who carried a child in her body for over 9 months and whom she did not want to give away. He ended up having to forcefully remove me, which he said he still remembered how he felt. She remembered too.
He also told me of the joy of walking around a corner and going into a room where my parents were waiting. He said the joy that registered on their faces the first time they saw me...he remembered that too. He said they were ecstatic to hold me, their son, for the first time.
He taught me something that I have never forgotten. Sometimes doing the right thing for another person, even one you gave birth to, can be extremely painful. But such pain has a flip side, marked by incredible joy.
Frank was there for my grandma's will, my parent's will, the buying and selling of the only house I ever owned. He went to my dad's nursing home room to get everything in order. He gave us legal advice and didn't charge us for sharing his knowledge. When I sold my house, my dad took care of the details because I lived out of state. Frank made a point of telling me to be grateful to him, "your dad did a lot of work to make this happen. Thank him."
He taught me that getting an education is one thing, but what you do with it afterwards is what really matters. Use it to serve others. He served his community in many ways.
He called to congratulate me after my ordination. Frank was more than our family attorney; he was a friend who took interest in our lives. He had the incredibly hard task of removing me from my birthmother's arms, and the joy of placing me in my parent's arms. For that, I will always be grateful. He found a good and loving home for me. May he now rest in the arms of angels, God's eternal home for us all.
Fr.Kevin Mannara, CSB
