In Loving Memory - Peter Sr.

Greetings dear family and friends - 

I type this from Master Plan after being away for 11 days for a very sad reason.  Paul's father Peter - who just turned 70 in January - passed away on Friday, March 11, 2011.  On Wednesday morning, March 9th, we came upstairs to find several early morning missed calls on both of our cell phones from Paul's brothers and our sister-in-law - we knew that something was terribly wrong.  Long story short - he was rushed to the hospital and med-flighted to Mass General early that morning.  We got the news before 7AM and were at his bed-side by 2PM that afternoon.  On Friday evening, he passed away peacefully surrounded by his wife of 44-years - Patricia; his three sons and their wives - Peter Jr. & wife Erin [who also have 3 awesome kids - Peter III (12), Brynn (9), and Mae (5)], Paul and me, and Will & wife Rosemarie.  The overwhelming power of love was apparent - he was surrounded by seven people left here on earth who will forever be grateful to have been loved by such a great man. 

Peter faithfully read this blog and always commented on how much he enjoyed it.  If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be living on a boat.  His true love and passion for boats and the sea was happily passed on to his son Paul who I am so lucky to be married to (almost 10 years!).   Both Paul and I are truly grateful that he was able to spend time on Master Plan and see the start of our dream.  Peter was on our maiden voyage last June 4th with his dear friend Paul Kuzia - another lover of boats - and together, the four of us enjoyed a magical journey from New Bedford to East Greenwich.  I will always remember turning into Narragansett Bay near the end of the day with the wind at our backs as we glided by Newport, under the Newport Bridge and up the bay towards East Greenwich - the lighting was perfect and it was breathtaking.  Peter sat right in front next to Paul reading the charts and navigating the journey - it is a day I will always cherish.

Peter, Paul, and Paul Kuzia in New Bedford just after Master Plan lowered into the water after two weeks of maintenance.  What a crew!

Peter - our navigator - as we rounded the corner by Warwick Neck towards East Greenwich

We also brought the entire Squeglia clan out on the boat last July and a great time was had by all - Peter emailed me the week following - "Thanks for bringing the boat up to Falmouth, and allowing us all to have one of the best days of our lives. It was one we will always remember."

The entire family - one I am SO blessed to be a part of - L to R - Mae, Brynn, Erin, Peter Sr., Peter Jr., Patricia, Will, Rosemarie, Peter III, me, and Paul.

A son and his father - doing what they truly loved - boating - look at Peter's huge smile!  Then again, it was rare to see Peter without a smile on his face, especially when he was on a boat!

Patricia and Peter on the back of their boat on Lake Tashmoo on the Vineyard - another fun afternoon spent on the water.

As we returned to the marina tonight and looked out to the beautiful boats and the sunset, I said to Paul - "your father would have loved it here - I wish he could have seen it."  But he is seeing it now from heaven - of that I am sure - as sure as he is still reading this blog.

Looking ahead, Paul and I are planning on leaving Stuart next week - around March 31st depending on weather - and our goal is to be back in Rhode Island by April 20th.  Once we get going again, I will start posting again with more frequency.

Until the next posting - sending love and hugs to all - Jen & Paul

Today's Quote:

Learn to pause...or nothing worthwhile will catch up to you.

-Doug King