Roma Funeral Home

A BEAUTIFUL FLOWER 

            by Barbara Guarino Kruk

              Week after week, month after month, I would see my old friend Rudy Scala going about his duties as an usher at St. Jude's Church in Mastic Beach.  He has been serving the 9:30 am Mass for as long as I can remember.  Every time I saw Rudy I could see that he was feeling the sense of hopeless and despair that we all come to know when we have a terminally ill family member. I would ask about his beautiful wife Josephine, the usually jovial Rudy would just shake his head and his eyes would tear up but there were no words to adequately describe the foreboding loss.  We all knew that Josie was very ill and that her time was nearing an end and we prayed that God in His mercy would be kind. 

               You see someone you love suffer and your whole world comes crashing down around you.  Your pain permeates your entire existence.  Days drift into night and your life is in a fog.  It's like walking through a nightmare.  Then, one day you awaken from this horrible dream to discover that your loved one is gone.  Their pain, their suffering, is no more. We weep for our loss.  We know that it is best for the patient but still in our hearts we want to keep them just a little longer.   

                Josephine Scala was a petite flower.  A precious rose amongst all the flowers. She was a devoted wife of fifty-eight years to her beloved Rudy.  She was the beloved mother of six children, eighteen grandchildren and one great grandchild. Josie has left this world a better place for her being here.  She has left a wonderful legacy through her children and grandchildren.

                Every Sunday the family would gather at the Scala homestead.  The place of childhood love and memories.  When Josie was feeling in good health she was the matriarch of her clan.  Always there for her family, and others, she would cook up a storm. 

She loved to spoil her grand-kids. 

               The little things that made her happy were time spent with family and friends going camping; taking trips to Atlantic City and time at the beach. 

               You can always tell families who have true and enduring love because they are usually the ones with deep faith.  It was trust and faith in God that has given the Scala family the strength to face the many years of suffering that Josie endured. 

               "God saw you were tired and a cure was not meant to be, so He whispered

gently Come to Me".  I'm sure Josie Scala heard her Lord's voice and went willing to His side. She is now enjoying the beauty that is Paradise and will continue to  love and comfort her family and all those who knew her. 

               I hope some day that I will walk into church and see my old friend Rudy and he will once again be that funny little man with the squeaky voice and that he  will have a lighter heart knowing that the beautiful flower he loved so much is at peace with no more pain and no more suffering.