Mildred Mele Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

ONCE MORE TOGETHER -Andrew Paul Mele On the sixth day of January in this new year my wife, lover, partner and friend of nearly 57 years passed away. Only someone who has lost a loved one can comprehend the reality. Forgive my outpouring of grief but as someone once said, ''a writer must write as a mountain climber must climb mountains or else go crazy.'' Words therefore help me maintain my sanity. James Howell called them, ''The soul's ambassadors.'' Ours was a relatively simple existence. We had no ''bucket list.'' There was no place we longed to travel to but lacked either the money or the opportunity, no mountains to climb nor rivers to cross before time takes its toll. We wanted to be able to remember and memories are a blessing. It was the writer James Barrie who expressed the salient thought. ''God gave us our memories so we'd have roses in December.'' For Millie and myself those memories were modest but poignant visions. Summers in Coney Island with a hot dog and French fries from Nathan's. Watching the ball drop on Times Square on New Years Eve from the balcony of the party room at the old Diplomat Hotel. A movie with a box of popcorn and a kiss or two in the balcony of the Beverly theater. A beautiful bride and a wedding day in the rain that turned to sun as the vows were spoken. The birth of children, the first on a Christmas morning after a frantic snowy ride to the hospital, the other on a cold February day, both Sundays, both blessed occasions . And then a grandchild, a gift from heaven. There were hot chocolates after a drive on Lighthouse Hill viewing the Christmas lights, and hamburgers at Cosmos on Hylan Blvd. Lobster night on the terrace at Carmen's Restaurant at the foot of Barlow Avenue in Annadale with a glass of sangria and a glorious view of our own Mediterranean Sea, also known as Lower New York Bay. Summer vacations in the Poconoes, the World's Fair at Flushing Meadows and a view of Michelanglo's glorious creation, the Pieta. School plays and piano recitals. Back yard barbeques with laughter and love and the children splashing in the pool. To remember one more Sunday afternoon cruising on a neighbor's boat out of Great Kills Marina. A day at Sand Lane watching the kids on the roller coaster or joining them riding the carousel in Bull's Head. Dreams unfulfilled? Plans not executed? Certainly. But none so severe as to rattle our world. No. No bucket list. Nothing we longed to do but never did. Regrets? Of course. They constitute all of the things we would do just one more time. Another trip to Cape May and the ancient Inn on the beach. One more seafood dinner at the Lobsterhouse. A stroll while pushing a shopping cart in the Key Food, a slice of pizza, a thick Sicilian slice at the Villa Monte in Arden Heights. One more barbeque on the deck in the back yard. One more Sunday in the kitchen and the aroma of a delectable meal brewing...could be mom's family favorite Lasagna. Once more together on Christmas Eve. One more day in the sun at Gateway Park watching the boats bobbing gently in their placid pool. One more cozy rainy night with a DVD of an old classic film; Casablanca or The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. Or perhaps a more recent and lighter love story like Serendipity or one of her favorites, Sweet Home Alabama, but since it was not one of mine, a good chance to catch up on some reading. One more meeting with old friends and old catch-up memories. Once more a Chinese meal at our favorite place, Jade Island. A cozy booth beneath a mural of an Island outrigger, our version of a trip to the exotic South Pacific. One more Sunday afternoon drive to the Pocono Mountains, a shrimp dinner at Smugglers Cove, and a dish overflowing with her favorite salad bar delights. Once more together to attend a graduation exercise, this time a grandchild, something she would never miss, our proof that there is a heaven, for she will be there. One more home cooked meal on the deck on a balmy fall day. Once more to revel in her joy at a winning lotto ticket however meager it may be. Once more together to kneel at Sunday mass in prayer. One more New Years Eve at Jade Island with family and among friends, even ones we don't know. Once more to stroll together hand-in-hand on a beach, a Staten Island street...or anywhere. Once more together to lug a myriad of gifts through the mall in the waning days of December. One more spring planting, those glorious begonias that she willed to perfection with love and the right amount of watering. Once more to lie in bed and feel the warmth beside you. Fittingly, in the end she was treated with the same care and respect and attention by the dedicated staff at NYU Medical Center as she gave so compassionately to others all these years. She wanted to return once more to her work, to the work and the people she loved, at the Staten Island University Hospital and with the good sisters at the Presentation Convent. It was said of her that she ''always worried about everybody else'' where she gave so much of herself so selflessly. These were my dreams also and my wishful thinking, none of which can be fulfilled. But these dreams are interlocked with the memories, and there is nothing left to wish for, only to remember in gratitude and warmth and love. Adieu, my beloved! Thank you and Godspeed. Mildred is survived by her beloved husband, Andrew Mele; loving children, Christine Love and Andrew Mele; dear brother, James Santore and cherished granddaughter, Alexandra Love. A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 9:30 a.m. on Monday at St. Thomas The Apostle Church located at 50 Maguire Avenue Staten Island, New York. Interment will follow in Ocean View Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 2-5 and 7-9 p.m. on Sunday at The John Vincent Scalia Home For Funerals, Inc., 28 Eltingville Blvd. (at Eltingville Station), Staten Island, New York.

Mildred Mele

November 26, 1940 - January 6, 2017