Honor Frank Cozzolino's final wishes and support his family

Welcome to the final chapter in our beloved Pappy's story. My name is Beth, and I am the oldest child of Frank and Robin Cozzolino. Before we begin, I have to thank you for taking the time to be here now as well as being a part of Pappy's life. I know we are many because I couldn't possibly count the number of devoted friends who loved Frank along with his family.

We often hear, "You just don't realize how much someone means to you until they are gone." There are many things that I didn't understand about Pappy until now. One thing that I know for certain is that he loved just as hard as he was funny and was genuinely grateful for every bit of love, family, and friendship that he received every single day. Pap never really asked for much, but he took great care and time with family and many friends. He had a way of making us all laugh out loud as we loved him.

Pap and Mom had discussed their final wishes a couple of weeks before he began getting miserably sick. He had all his arrangements decided from the pallbearers to a beautiful blue coffin planned and expressed that he absolutely did not want to be cremated. Pap and Mom also had a life insurance policy, but it is a little bit shy of the 2-year clause, now making the policy null and void. Unfortunately, the family does not currently have the financial means to follow through with Pap's burial wishes.

If you have ever made funeral arrangements for yourself or another loved one, then you understand how extreme the cost difference is when deciding between a burial or cremation. Mom, as well as the entire family, desperately want to honor the final wishes of our loving and loyal husband, Pappy, and friend. We are facing the reality that a cremation is likely, and this weighs heavily upon my mom. I can assure you that every decision that I have seen Pap make was not made without first thinking of Mom. He never wanted to put her in any position other than caring for her. As a dear friend mentioned, now she will never be able to find anything ever again!

I am not quite sure how to end this, but I didn't know where to start either, and here we are. Papa's love shows through us all as so many of you have expressed just how much you love him. I know that we are asking for a lot of money in a short time period. Pap's last words were "thank you" repeatedly over and over again. He was amazed and loved seeing that so many people loved him so much. Let us all show up together for Pappy one last time and honor him in the way he deserves. I can't thank everyone enough, and I thank you again. Frank and the family love you all very much.