Flavio "Pupo" Tomassini

Flavio Giovanni Ernesto Carlo Tomassini, for many this will be the first time they learn your full name. For those who know you, we know you as Pupo.

Pupo, a unique name whose meaning only you alone could give life to. From the moment anyone met you, it was clear that you carried the spirit of an adventurous child seeking to explore the world looking to find and share its true beauty. However, with that youthful soul, you also carried the endless wisdom of a husband, a friend, a father, and a grandpa. You never asked for more than you were given, and even if what you were given was not so good, you knew better than to seek for more. Instead your turned that half empty cup into a glass half full,,, full of hope, full of strength, full of perseverance and full of desire to overcome whatever obstacle that came with it.

Pupito, little did you know that you were fluent in more than Italian, Spanish and English. You were fluent in dad jokes that became grandpa jokes. Fluent in anecdotes that will mark our lives forever because no one knew how to deliver a story better than you. You were an example of love and kindness as you carried Ines in her illness. You had the courage to navigate the waters of grief and the strength to again find love in your marriage with Vicky. Very few know how to love like you do, unconditionally and with an outpouring of loving gestures and cheesy emojis. You earned the title of hero as you raised three beautiful kids and an acquired fourth. But surely, everyone can agree, that your favorite title was the one of Grandpa to Luna, Mila, Lucas and Emma. You were also fluent in the language of strength and hope as you battled every step of your illness. Although we may not feel it now, I think you won. You never let the diagnosis define you and you fought with all your might to overcome this cancer and give us a little more time with you. Little did we know that no amount of time would be enough.

Now you rest. You leave a gaping hole and a vacant space in a world only a handy man like you could fix. In your endless toolbox that you left behind are the markings of the home you built for us. A home of joy, love and strength with plenty of space for vulnerability and humanness. You have been a shoulder to cry on for many, without the fear of crying right along with us who needed you.

Until we meet again, we can only hope to live our lives like you did… on a long bike ride making sure to stop and smell the roses, or climb a tree, or pick up a flower to give to your love. I pray that your presence in our lives remains as vibrant as the tick-tock of your beloved pocket watches and clocks you always kept wound around the house. May we who knew you learn to live life with a youthful spirit like yours and continue to learn from your endless wisdom.

We love you forever.