PETE SHEEHAN | TLIC
The Giordanos recently at their
North Babylon home.
The Giordanos recently at their
North Babylon home.
Couple celebrates 60 years of marriage, faith, family and service
NORTH BABYLON — While growing up in Brooklyn more than 60 years ago, Jeanette and Ralph Giordano discovered each other and added new depths to their Catholic faith.
Having met in 1947 when he was 16 and she was 14, they grew to know each other and fell in love. In addition, Ralph became active in a lay apostolate, Young Christian Workers, “which sought to take Christ from the tabernacle out into the community.”
“Before that, I was just a typical Catholic who went to Mass and put his nickel in the collection every Sunday,” Ralph said. Later, Jeanette joined the group. As Ralph was preparing to go into the U.S. Army, they got married at St. Rita’s in Brooklyn on Feb. 16, 1952.
Now, they are preparing to celebrate their 60th anniversary of married life, a life marked by the raising of five children, devotion to the Church, and service for others, said their daughter Chris Campbell.
“They have blessed so many with their love and kindness that the world has been a richer and brighter place,” Campbell said.
Starting out their married life wasn’t easy. Their first child, Chris, was born while Ralph was serving in Arizona. On returning, though he had offers from Grumman and Kodak, Ralph went to work with his brother in a photo lab he started.
As the couple concentrated on raising their family, they joined another lay apostolate, the Christian Family Movement. “We talked about bringing Christ into your marriage,” Ralph said. They helped start Cana conferences, where established married couples encouraged young married couples in their vocation — both at St. Rita’s and after they moved to Long Island.
When they realized that “we had to start earlier” in helping couples find Christ in their marriages, Ralph said, the two became leaders in Pre-Cana, helping prepare engaged couples for marriage.
As their family grew, Jeanette saw a need to move beyond their two-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn. She proposed moving out to North Babylon, “which seemed like another world.”
“We moved this far out,” Ralph said, “because anything closer was more than we could afford.” The Giordanos became involved in their new parish, SS. Cyril and Methodius, Deer Park, teaching religious education, singing in the folk group, and serving in Pre-Cana ministry.
“For years, we prepared couples, but as time passed we were older and we left it to the other couples we brought in,” Jeanette said. “For a long time after that, couples would come up to us and say; ‘You did our Pre-Cana.’”
Their involvement wasn’t just with the Church. They both served as president of the local PTA. Once, for a fundraiser for the school, Jeanette and a friend made meatballs. “I nearly ruined my kitchen,” Jeanette recalled with a laugh. Today, Ralph is a chaplain for the local AMVETS and Jeanette for the Ladies Auxiliary.
After 25 years, the family photo lab business failed and Ralph faced 23 difficult weeks of unemployment, before he got a job in sales for Levitz Furniture. “It was a good job and I stayed there another 25 years,” he said, until he retired. Jeanette worked for a public school district.
“My parents were always helping people,” Campbell said. “Whenever there was a sick neighbor, my mother would double whatever she was cooking and send one of her children to that neighbor with dinner.” She would also take up collections for flowers when someone died and send her children to shovel snow from neighbors’ driveways.
“All of my brothers and sisters are involved in some kind of work of compassion,” Campbell said. “That came from my parents’ example.”
“They have brought so much to the parish,” said Father Michael Vetrano, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes, West Islip, the Giordano’s current parish. “They both go back to the early days of our parish (founded in 1956) when people were just building this community up from the roots.”
“They are true pillars of the church,” he continued. “When I first came here I remember Ralph as an active member of our music ministry. He led the psalm each week at Mass with his rich baritone voice. Jeanette is now an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion and an active member of our consolation ministry. She helps families prepare for the celebration of a loved one’s Mass of Christian burial and she is the co-leader of our parish bereavement group, which helps people with the experience of loss.
“They are both the kind of people who support everything in our parish life and never fail to attend just about every event,” said Father Vetrano.
“We’ve also had our share of scuffs,” Ralph said, falling short at times. “We’re not saints but we’re grateful for all that we have gotten from our faith.”
The Giordanos on Feb. 16, 1952
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