Ray Ricca - 8/27/67 - 7/7/19

Ray Ricca along with his wife Eva and 5 kids; Raymond, Megan, Hannah, David and Jonathan were all living a regular Long Island lifestyle.  Ray and Eva both Centereach High School graduates, have created a beautiful and loving family over the last 25 years together. Ray came home from work one day last May 2018 and was very tired and not feeling well.  He continued to go to work, come home and sleep during the next week. Then he finally went to the doctor. They ran all the tests… Ultrasound, CAT scan, MRI, PET scan you name it they did it. The doctors said he had a mass on his colon and liver, his belly was all swollen and his kidneys were being affected too.  Back and forth to doctors’ visits they went all month with Ray not getting any better, not eating etc. It was Cancer. He was admitted to the Hospital on Memorial Day.  


He saw many doctors and specialists, and it took a while to get a plan together to fight this disgusting, and very aggressive cancer.  Everyone was working hard to find out where the cancer originated from and during this time Ray’s stomach was swelling up and his abdomen needed to be drained.  This happened several times and each time they took out liters and liters of fluids from him which took its toll on his body. His diet was changed several times and he was on Morphine for the pain in stomach.  Then one night with a heartburn pain that would not go away he had a heart attack. One artery was 100% blocked and another was about 85% blocked. He went into surgery and they put in 2 stents. He made it out of surgery which was a very close call, but now he was on blood thinners and they would not be able to start Chemo for this aggressive cancer for 2-4 weeks, since it could result in another heart attack.  


June 2018 sucked.  Plain and simple. An entire month in the hospital with every test you can think of… Doctors finally said it was Large B-cell Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and Chemo would be the treatment.  The fight had begun… and throughout all of the pain and discomfort Ray maintained his humor. He tried to make others laugh and feel better. Chemo started mid-month and he was dealing with so many issues, just too many to name here.  Eva created a caringbridge.org page detailing Ray’s fight and it was so hard to read each day and was very hard to see what this amazing family were all going through together. He went into the hospital on Memorial Day and after so many medical procedures was able to come home on Independence Day.  This cancer fight had just begun and already had so many ups and downs that changed sometimes hour by hour. Ray and his entire family stayed strong and their spiritual beliefs continued to help guide them on this journey.  


July through December 2018…  So many doctors’ visits and stays in and out of the hospital.  Ray fought this cancer hard! So many times one step forward, two steps back scenarios.  Round after round of Chemo treatments, dealing with fevers and severe pain and discomfort.  Blood transfusions, Kidney failure, Sepsis, and many medical terms and drugs that no one should ever have to deal with ever in their entire lifetime.  Ray and Eva’s faith and trust in the Lord and prayers from family and friends helped get them through this entire time. Ray was able to be home for Thanksgiving and Christmas and spend this time with his family.  He had his last round of Chemo in December and would have another PET scan in the New Year.


January 2019.  Results came in from the PET scan and doctors said the cancer was gone!  8 months of hills and valleys and finally some great news! The prayers and support for Ray were amazing.  There was still a long road ahead with follow up surgery and dealing with pain medications. Plus follow up doctor visits… but we all thought things had finally changed for the best!  


February 2019.  Ray was focusing on getting off the narcotics that is body became dependent on over the course of this terrible roller-coaster ride of an illness. It was extremely hard time to go through, let along watch.  There were many side effects relating to withdrawal. Weight loss, drenching sweats, stomach pain, weakness, but Ray powered through it and Eva and the family helped him every step of the way. He went in for a procedure mid-month and they had to open him up once again, but this time they found a tumor which was tested immediately and it was lymphoma.  There were also more tumors in the abdominal wall and muscle which they could not remove.


March, April and May 2019.  In and out of the hospital… new Oncologist.  New plan of action, 3 more Chemo treatments and stem cell therapy plan.  Infections, Antibiotics… CAT scans. The tumors continued to grow. His stomach enlarged and they had to remove the bile to alleviate the stomach from rupturing.  So many events have happened since we heard that good news back in January. On May 4th Ray was sent home on hospice care.  Ray’s daughter Hannah was to be married later this year, but plans changed and the family was able to have the wedding and reception at the house in the backyard so Ray could attend.  The wedding happened on May 25th and it was a gorgeous day.  The highlight of the day was seeing Ray and Hannah, father and daughter dance together to celebrate her big day.  Not a dry eye in that moment and not one now as I type this.

June 2019.  Ray has been home, but his condition has been steadily declining.  The nurse has said that Ray will be leaving us soon. Not sure when, because he continues to be very strong minded.  Prayers for peace and comfort for him and the entire family are greatly appreciated as this is a very hard time for the Ricca family.  

July 7, 2019.    Ray passed away and went to heaven.   

Please make a donation to help Ray’s family financially.  There have been many financial expenses over the past year and any amount would be greatly appreciated.  He has been an amazing father, husband, son and brother of mine and this should not have happened to him or anyone!  Thank you for taking the time to read this, and thank you for your kindness and support.  We will all miss him very much!

July 11, 2019.  Marinello Funeral Home
493 Middle Country Rd, Coram, NY 11727
Thursday from 2-4pm and 7-9pm

July 12, 2019. Funeral on Friday at 10am