Julia T. Ficcaglia passed away peacefully in her sleep at age 92 during the early morning hours of Tuesday, June 5, 2007 from complications brought about by severely advanced arthritis. Julia was born in Far Hills, New Jersey on September 19, 1914 and came to Phoenix in late December 1942 to marry Raymond Ficcaglia at what is now St. Mary's Basilica in downtown Phoenix on December 31, 1942 and remained a resident of Arizona through her passing. Julia is survived by her younger sister, Mary McGowan in New Jersey, her twin sons, 5 grandsons, one great grandson and one great granddaughter, Julia Ruth Ficcaglia. Julia was a charter member of the Ladies Sodality at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, 2312 E. Campbell Ave. in Phoenix, where her Funeral Mass will be celebrated Friday morning, June 15, 2007 at 10:00 A.M. Visitation will be held the evening before at Whitney & Murphy Funeral Home, 4800 E. Indian School Rd., from 6:00 - 8:00 P.M. with Scripture Service at 7:00 P.M. Julia will be interred with her husband at St. Francis Catholic Cemetery in Phoenix following the Mass. Donations may be made to the Arthritis Foundation, 1313 E. Osborn Rd. #200, Phoenix, AZ 85014 in her name in lieu of flowers.
Published in The Arizona Republic on 6/13/2007.
There is much more to her story than this brief epilogue. Hers was one of the world's purest love stories, as she waited faithfully for over 30 years after the death of her one and only love. We can now comfort ourselves with the notion that now, finally, Julia and her Raymond are once again reunited in some unknown dimension. Perhaps Feynman would concur that Love is the strangest force of Nature, a timeless energy inscrutable by scientific inquiry. Let us all hope we can experience an energy that clean and pure in our own lives.
We will miss you Grandma Julie!
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