Funeral Service Speeches
Saturday, February 19th, 2011 Our Lady of Perpetual Help,  Windham, ME

Mike Glass

Not sure if I’ll get through all this w/out a few TO'S .. so if you'll indulge….I think A full and two 20’s oughta do it… I’ll signal when I need to….

I know there are many families here today …. I come to you on behalf of the windy city family. Really, that’s what we are in my heart, brothers in arms.. we ate, slept, laughed, cried, sweated, bled and loved together.
For better than a decade our family travelled the world… high on life, intoxicated with each others company, mesmerized by the flight path of a small round piece of plastic. We cheered it and said it proudly “ultimate is our life, we think of nothing else” and our mantra was always Harder faster more……
An amazing time to be alive, we were young, strong, fearless, invincible and yes we were great!

If you ever saw a Falcon in a dive or a Dolphin leap from the water you might get a glimpse of the way the windy city family saw Joey. To say that he was larger than life to us might seem cliché but it’s true. Able to do things on the field I’ve never seen before or since. I’d venture to say there ARE some hundreds of years of Ultimate experience in this room and they all will tell the same story. Joe was a huge part of our success collectively, (and mine individually as well), which I’m thankful I was able to tell him vociferously when we last spoke at new years. Though time, distance, and life seem to have intervened and we really did not see enough of each other since Joe left Chicago for the east, the intensity of our shared success and commitment to each other is unmatched in our lives.

In New Orleans 1983 …. Nat’l final… After struggling to a first half deficit I threw a pass to the end zone that was just a little too far and passed by Joe headed out the back …. The collective sigh of my teammates disappointment was nearly audible, certainly no-one could catch that now …. BUT WAIT … at the last possible instant he turned with three leopard like strides, leaped and caught it, of course, with the signature dive, grunt and ensuing spike. At that moment I knew we were going to win our first National Championship. Like a lightning bolt in a dry prairie he was the spark that could ignite us all. This was not the exception but the standard for Joe ….he simply, somehow, could just catch shit that no-one else could … period!

I would like to share a few comments from others in the Ultimate community.. That have come across the internet in the last few days......

From CVH
We were sitting in a small circle under a tree….just after a pool game when Joey flashed by about two feet off the ground… he was fully horizontal but his arms were by his side and his head was tilted up. He exuded power and grace and had a huge grin on his face. Though he went by in a flash, in my mind he is suspended there for minutes, a lifetime in fact, looking each of us in the eye as if to say "Can you do this?". He landed, eventually, smooth as silk, and sauntered back to the circle with his signature swagger. For that, and for everything else he gave us, I love him. He will be
missed in our hearts but remains forever in our minds.

From Jeff Williams
I perhaps have in this group, the unique honor of having played against Joey for many years and then being teammates with him for a few years in Boston.
He was quite simply, the most amazing, gifted player I have ever seen. It was like he was a different species at times on the field. The hang time in the air was unearthly, like can that dude actually fly? I also thought it was really cool how he always caught the disc on defense too, never just knocking it away. I asked him once why he did this and he said “because that way I know it’s MINE!”

From Steve Whitehead
The wind, the endless wind, in your face sharpening your skill.. and just when you thought had mastered it …he was there with the wry little smile, baiting you, challenging you like iron sharpening iron…We excelled because of his greatness .. Joey pushed us to be better people , expecting perfection and accepting nothing less. His love for us never wavered, just as ours is now .. you will be with us forever.

From Noam Frankel
Joe was generous, welcoming, and a natural leader. The best experiences from ultimate and some of my life were spent driving around the country with Joe…. He exuded the determination to jump into the fray, and let you know he was just as scared.


Whenever we needed a quick score, more often than not Dean-o would simply ask “what’s the easiest way to score? And we would clear out and huck it deep to Joe…. Point over.

Joe’s energy and passion extended beyond the the white lines of an Ultimate field, his infectious laugh, a cross between perhaps … the cowardly lion and snidely whiplash? His huge smile, and kind heart, could and would charm us all and gladden our hearts. Whether it was road tripping to a dead show or a tournament, or hangin with Mr. and Mrs. G for Christmas eve … there were lots of laughs and a camaraderie that was pure and unspoken. The Giampino home was always a favorite with the windy city crowd. Joe and Carol’s open home and hearts, made us all feel like family and there love for Joe was boundless. The jokes .. smiles and warmth will live within us now and forever….

Perhaps living to the god-like standard he set on the field was impossible to manage in life … perhaps his star shone just a little too brightly…. everyone has their gifts and challenges … strengths and frailties… maybe they balance out … sometimes to extremes… I know we all need to take the time to love and hold each other during our all too brief time together… The entire windy city family and myself feel blessed to have shared the field of life with Joey Giampino….
 

Mike O'Dowd
I loved Joe, faults & all, & he loved me the same way, that’s forever. So, I consider myself one of the luckiest people on Earth. I hope you all (to those in attendance) remember how lucky you were to have a piece of him in your life. For more than a decade, Joe and I had a close personnel adversarial combat relationship at practice. Windy City was always blessed with people who always made practice. But I can only speak for my own relationship with Joe. Joe and I, for match-up reasons, were always on opposing teams. As his battle mate, I had to learn what made him tick and break his will. Joe definitely beat my ass and broke me just as much or more. Off the field, for those years we were tight friends that always hung out together. We grew up into men together. (Carey Goldenberg mentored both of us through some formidable years and deserves a lot of credit for getting us out of those years alive and also developing us as players) Joe and I also learned we could depend on each other in the clutch, no matter where we were. That is why I left my new born twin girls at home in California and traveled through four airports through the night to get here this morning. That strong bond is still there, even though Joe is gone. We will always feel as one. Tournaments were a total joy for both of us. When Joe and I were on the same team, we knew it wasn’t fair. We really had a mental quickness edge with communication and intuition. With years of practice against each other, we both knew damn well, what the other could do. Joe would cut to my hammer and I could basically throw anything out there and he would catch it, no matter who was on him. Those years were filled with special, intimate, incredible, experiences we shared together on and off the field( ten lives worth). As for the secret to try and stop Joe on the field, his timing was perfect. Joe always arrived like a freight train, right on time, with ton of momentum. You could plan on him being there, whether you could do something about it was your problem. Just at that precise moment, he would extend his reach with the grace, power and fast twitch of a tiger to pounce, and he always held on to disc. The disc would stick in his mitt while he violently crashed into a few bodies and the ground. Those events, and there were countless numbers of them, were simply amazing.

Joe and I road tripped to both coasts more than once and yes, I smoked at least one cigarette per trip. Joe had so many songs in his heart that he was beautiful. Joe made me countless breakfasts that were all delicious. Joe was a charming, super engaging, spontaneous, dramatic diva with a heart that was bigger than everybody else’s. When you were with Joe he could make the whole world go away. Needless to say, Joe left a big impression.

As a player, there will never be another guy like him. Every practice was amazing. Joe drove all of us just to be at practice so you didn't miss anything. Joe made us raise our own level of play. (I said “Jordanesque”, at the funeral, but after I thought about it, Jordan had nothing on Joe. I don’t think Michael Jordan could or would want to fly his body and take the punishment that Joe did. Joe was brutal and a flying shark that took out many bodies along the way. Joe was relentless, especially early on in his career. He couldn’t control himself.) You would say did he really just do that, and then he would do it again. Other teams that wee played were amazed by Joe as well, you couldn’t help but feel lucky that you just saw what Joe did.

I can honestly say every day he inspired me (he still does), whether it was to kick his ass because he pissed me off or to be like him and seize the moment like no other man. He drove me to try and be great; I had to be, just to keep up. That fire, edge, or focus that Joe had also kept him unsatisfied, it was a double-edged sword.

So I stand here today and hope and pray Joe is finally at peace. I hope as we lay Joe's ashes to rest that we rejoice in what he accomplished in his brief time with us and not dwell on the “what ifs”.

To Joe and Carol, Joe’s parents, you should never have to bury a son! But I say to you today, you gave us the most wonderful, charming, exciting, loveable, charismatic boy I have ever known. Today is a day to remember and acknowledge Joe’s greatness. You gave us the most special gift. Joe was beautiful in every sense. I am indebted for life to you and if there is anything I can do to repay you, please name it. I love your whole family and have always felt privileged to be welcomed into your home on special occasions.

To the rest of you in attendance today, and I speak for Joe on this. I challenge you to make a difference on his behalf. Take the parts of Joe you loved and make them your own. Share these traits and wonderful qualities with your loved ones. Live in the moment and amaze others with your ability to care.

Joe I am stronger now in your passing because your spirit lives in me forever.

Rio Smith

My relationship with Dad began when I flew out to Maine by myself as a 15 year old girl with a picture of some bald guy in my hand that oddly resembled me. As I stepped off the plane to meet this stranger, he was standing in the middle of a semi-circle of people with his arms wide open and a gentle smile on his face. I had my suspicions, but I went along hugging him and holding his hand anyway as we walked through the airport. Even as I told myself that I was just doing it all to have a relationship with Jack and Nicole, my mother’s words hung in my head: “One day you and your father will be the best of friends.” She must have known God’s intentions all along.

I quickly realized how much I enjoyed watching him try to figure out his role for me as “Dad”. He decided to play Macho Padre on my 20th birthday ski trip by skidding bucketfuls of snow into my boyfriend’s face after he had taken a spill. He challenged me to name all the 50 U.S. capitals (which I think I named about 10). And when the waitress would ask if we need anything else, he never failed to request a stack of 100 dollar bills.

It was always fun to compare our genetic traits, like he was the missing link to anything I didn’t have in common with Mom. But it always amazed me how alike we could think. He has one of the most open minds of anybody I know, which was grace to me when I felt I needed to release a part of my conscience that few people make you feel comfortable sharing. He understood if I needed to cry, or yell, or not say anything at all. And I became the same grace for him.

I grew closer to Dad than I ever could have imagined in the past 10 years, and I learned so much about myself by having him as a best friend. Of the many things he’s taught me: It’s good to utilize a variety of words from the English vocabulary. It’s good to call loved ones “sugar”. And it’s good to send someone a one-worded text to let you know you’re thinking of them, even if it’s just “Hey” or “Yo”.

He taught me how to forgive. He taught me how to avoid passing judgment. And he taught me that “You can change the world, one person at a time”.

I know in my heart that he IS in a better place and that he IS at peace. And I know that one day, my friend and I will be reunited.