Friday, November 13, 2020
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Joe Mizzoni Eulogy
November 7, 2020
Hi, I’m Larry Schmitt, friend of the family, and I am very glad to be here today to help celebrate Joe’s life. In 2020, I’m sure we all appreciate the importance of friends more than ever. Joe was a great friend, and I’d like to share today a little about what made Joe so special.
When I think about Joe the first word that comes took mind is character. I met Joe during high school, where we grew up in our old Chicago neighborhood, Bridgeport. Joe, as anyone who met him agreed, was a real character. And he stood out in a neighborhood full of colorful characters.
Our shared interest in music, and going to concerts and bars later, bonded us. We were part of what we would now call a diverse ethnic and cultural blend in Bridgeport, but back then was just a Chicago neighborhood. It had its racial, ethnic and cultural tensions but we didn’t let that affect who we were friends with. Joe didn’t care about your background, and loved having a good time with anyone who happened to be around. That openness towards others was what struck me the most when we first became friends. And it showed in the eclectic group of Joe’s friends that I've met over the years. Joe not only was a character, but he always demonstrated character in the way he treated others. He was rewarded with great friends and a wonderful family for that.
I had many good times with Joe in our younger days, especially our roadtrips, concerts, and bar-hopping of course. Among his other skills, Joe was legendary for knowing, long before computers and smart phones, where the best beer specials and live music were on any given night. He took great pride in that. A highlight of those years was Disco Demolition night at old Comiskey Park. Joe being the die-hard rock-and-roller that he was, never did like disco music, and he led the charge for us to attend. I don’t know that I’d ever seen him so happy as when his favorite radio DJ blew up that stack of disco records. Many fans took the opportunity to storm the field after that, but we sat and watched the mayhem. Joe just sat there smiling...
Like everyone who met Joe, I remember him first for being a fun-loving and witty guy. A good friend who I could see staying close with. It took my leaving for college to learn something deeper about Joe. It really hit home when Joe started to visit me on campus and met my college friends. Joe was already a working guy at this point, and I saw what a keen observer of people he was and how he could fit in with any crowd. Being Joe, he teased us relentlessly for being eggheads, and his wry observations about my college friends were always hilarious. He became a regular guest at our college parties. The college crowd really didn’t know what to make of Joe. He was clever and funny, of course, but more importantly a unique character unlike anyone from their more typically suburban or small-town backgrounds. I began to appreciate that although I was anxious to leave the neighborhood for college, I needed to hold on to the people and character of our unique old neighborhood. Joe was my reminder of how important that was. No matter where I went, I took a some of Bridgeport with me because of people in my life like Joe. Joe would, of course, have his own take on that if he were here to defend himself today.
Joe really impressed me as he met and married Nancy, and made the transition to being a great family guy so quickly. Joe seemed to be a natural as a parent for Veronica and Annmarie. He gave the rest of us hope that we could grow up and become adults, while remaining the same person.
After that, Joe and I settled down into more relaxed activities like brewing beer together (named PMS beer by Joe of course, using the initials of our last names). Joe and I did not get to see each other very often after he and Nancy moved away, but he returned home when he could. And when we did get together it was often for something special, like a Springsteen concert or our annual smelt fishing parties. Like many guys, we didn’t talk enough but that didn't matter.
Most memorable to me was how Joe remained the same guy as his struggles from his back injury got worse over the years and he endured pain, operations and medication. Joe never let that define him as a person. In fact, he never even brought it up when we talked or got together. I don’t know how he endured it all so well. And I’ve always admired Nancy and the girls for helping to make it all seem so normal.
When we last saw Joe 2 years ago, and he was really having trouble getting around, he still insisted on meeting us for dinner as it was our first time in Nashville. Of course, we had a great time together, despite the effort it obviously took for Joe. That’s the way I’ll remember Joe. A good guy who made the most he could out of life and left us too soon. I’m glad that he is not in pain any longer. And somewhere up there in the promised land, I hope Joe is taking a break from hanging out with E Street band members Clarence Clemmons and Danny Federici, and watching us today.
Nancy and family, thanks for bringing us all together today. It’s a day to remember Joe the way I think he would want to be remembered, laughing and telling stories. And I've got a bunch of them. You may be gone Joe, but you won’t be forgotten.