Obituary of Antonio Luconi II

Antonio Luconi II - World’s Biggest Jet Fan May you build a ladder to the stars, And climb on every rung, May you stay forever young. IHH. Antonio Luconi II passed away at home in Boonton Twp. on Sunday, March 20th. He was 28 years young and has left us broken hearted, but grateful for having had him bless our lives. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Tuesday, March 29th at 10 am at St. Cecelia’s Church, 70 Church St. Rockaway, NJ. Friends, relatives and supporters may visit on Monday, March 28th from 4-8 pm at the Norman Dean Home For Services, 16 Righter Ave., Denville. Please wear your JETS attire or JETS green. In lieu of flowers, donations by way of www.inmemoryof-memorial.org, may be made to the good work of Above All Recovery Centers. Please share your memories here with his family. They will cherish them forever. Antonio made his entrance into this world on 8/7/87. A neat date to say the least. His folks and big sister Tara welcomed him in and loved him madly for 28 years. Ant attended St. Cecilia’s school, graduated from Morris Catholic in 2005, and later earned his AA from MCC. He was an all around good soul. He loved to play sports, was an amazing athlete, gifted and talented beyond words. Antonio was a natural leader. He loved to root on his beloved NY Jets and NJ Devils. He was an excellent eater and loved food! He loved his loyal canine Bear, the dog who could always be found at his side. Antonio was current on all world events, politically astute, a statistic genius and loyal to a fault. His family meant everything to him and he told them each day how much he loved them. Above anyone in this world; he was over the moon for his niece and goddaughter Adrianna. His gentle soul and enthusiastic spirit will live on forever in the hearts of all who knew and loved him. He leaves loving memories to his Mom and Dad, Marianne (nee Burlace) and Anthony; dear sister Tara Barnard and her husband Ryan; adoring niece Adrianna; loving Grandpa Rinaldo Luconi; and many loving aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, and ralliers. IHH. Letter to Governor Christie Dear Governor, IHH. My name is Anthony Luconi. My brother died in my arms of a heroin overdose in 1975. On Sunday 3/20/16 my 28 yr old son Antonio Luconi II succumbed to the same disease as it snuck back up on him. A statistical genius. Heart of gold. Past Captain of the Morris Catholic football team. Captain of anything he ever played or participated in. "Ant" was an avid NYJETS fan and for that we will wear NYJETS colors to bring attention to this disease and the heroin epidemic. The roadblocks Antonio encountered trying to get clean was something that we as citizens should be ashamed of our selves. Lack of support and understanding, system red tape, insurance issues all combined to let us lose another good soul. On 11-3-15 my son texted my wife Marianne a link to your beautiful video about your mom and your best friend and how we as a society need to understand that addiction is a disease. He was a supporter of yours and felt that someone was finally "getting it". Governor I am extending an invitation for you to come to his wake or Catholic Mass and the repast. All information is on the web site at Norman Dean funeral home in Denville, NJ. You are invited to speak your message to all of us so that we can have another avenue to broadcast awareness of this disease that has taken too many special lives. We have many police officers and federal agents in our families that will also be attending and honoring Antonio. We are hoping that you Governor Christie and the NYJETS organization will use your notoriety to bring attention to this epidemic that is affecting our citizens and loved ones. You may like to attend just to be with Ant's supporters and family. We thank you for your time and trust that you will help us make awareness and system change a number one priority. IHH. March, 2016 My sweet baby boy, How much do I love you? You know. You always knew. And as a result I always, always knew how much you loved me. We were so blessed to have each other and to have had that special bond – more so than most moms and sons. We both “got it”. And we got each other. When I gave birth to you, you were the biggest baby at the hospital. Nine pounds five ounces. Big big baby. And when I brought you home you couldn’t fit into all of the clothes that I had meticulously prepared for your nursery. You were like a big ‘ole Buddha – laying there with rolls on your cheeks and belly and especially the four roles on your legs. It was hard to change your diaper! But I always took comfort knowing that as large as you were I knew that I was blessed that your heart and soul were also that big and beautiful. I wasn’t wrong. You were my silly silly guy. You made me laugh and giggle. You showed me what joy there was in life just by being with you and being your mom. One day when you were little you climbed up on the kitchen counter and were investigating the contents of one of the cabinets with all of the breakfast stuff. When I came into the kitchen I asked you what you were doing, you looked at me and said with real confusion – “Mom, I don’t know which one they kill.” Alarmed, I asked you what you meant and you told me with impatience – “Mom- you know – those cereal killers – maybe it’s Count Chocula!” There was another time when we talked about putting a piece of china in the cabinet – you said “let me do it – I want to put it in the Chinese cabinet!” One day when we were in the car we were stopped behind a car making a left turn. I started to drive around the car to the right of it to pass and continue to drive. You had a fit. You kept yelling at me that it was “an eagle”. I couldn’t understand and after questioning you, we figured out that you told me that Nonno told you that you never pass a car on the right because it was illegal. Go figure that you thought that it was an eagle! One Christmas Day night I got a phone call from a man with an accent that sounded like he was from India. He was very upset, told me that he was a neighbor and there were three boys who had been outside and kicked his dog. Needless to say, I was quite upset because the man continued to describe the three boys - one little one, one big one and one in the middle. I automatically knew who he was talking about – you, Michael and Gustavo. I went upstairs in a fit of rage yelling that I was going to kill you all. I blasted opened your bedroom door only to find that all of you were on the floor laughing your butts off because you had computerized your voice and were pranking me. And our song – Forever Young. We danced to it at your First Communion. We promised each other that we would dance to it at your wedding and when you had your first child. And every time since your First Communion when we heard the song we would always run to each other and hold each other and dance until the song was over even though you hated to dance. For our whole lives together every time each one of us heard the song and if we weren’t together we would call each other on the phone and hold the phone up to the radio so we could both be listening together. I’ll never forget one night – you were a senior in high school and were out at a party. The phone rang a little after midnight and when I answered all I could hear was our song, Forever Young. That’s a mental picture in my mind that I will always keep in my heart. How cool was it that my 17 year old son was at a party with his friends, heard the song called me to share. You never ever stopped showing me how much you loved me. And you weren’t just the silly guy with me – it was also with your sister. You were always trying to get a reaction out of her. How many times did your sister and you argue if you were cursing or not. You would purposely say “hellies” instead of helicopters because you were cursing by saying “hell” in the word. Your sister would come to me all upset and tattle on you that Ant was cursing again. When I would approach you to correct you, you would look at me with your special grin and smirk and say “I was only talking about helicopters.” It drove her crazy and you would always get away with it. Other times that you drove your sister crazy was when she would have sleepovers. One time in particular you and your two partners in crime, Gustavo and Michael, thought that it would be the funniest idea to go and shaving cream Tara and her five girlfriends while they were sleeping. Once you heard all of the girls screaming the three of you ran and hid in your bedroom closet. Dad came up really pissed off to yell at the three of you and when he opened the door the three of you were hysterically cracking up in the closet laughing your heads off because the girls were all in the bathroom yelling and complaining because they had to wash their hair. My sweet boy we forever spoke about life, character, values and morals. Day after day we talked about how some people “get it” and how the majority of people don’t. We always celebrated the fact that the two of us were blessed to “get it” and even more so - we “got it” together. You never ever disappointed me. I was always so proud of who you were and I know that you always knew that. Remember our favorite poem together? "The majority of us lead quiet, unheralded lives as we pass through this world. There will most likely be no ticker-tape parades for us, no monuments created in our honor. But that does not lessen our possible impact. For there are scores of people waiting for someone just like us to come along; people who will appreciate our compassion, our unique talents. Someone who will live a happier life merely because we took the time to share what we had to give. Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have a potential to turn a life around. It's overwhelming to consider the continuous opportunities there are to make our love felt." Author: Leo Buscaglia The bond that a child develops with his mother can never be severed. You grew as an organism inside her for nine months. She carried you and sustained you, sharing her sustenance with you through your umbilical cord. When you are born the cord is severed. It is never severed in her heart. That bond lasts forever. As we grow up we become our own people and may come to forget that woman who nurtured and loved us. But remember this, she will never forget you and never stop loving you. You never forgot that woman. You always, always loved me more than any son could love a mother. If I had to choose between loving you and breathing…. I would use my last breath to tell you. Forever Young my sweet boy. I don’t know how I will live without you. Always and Forever, Mom OXOXOX