Eulogy · Father
Greg Romero
First and foremost, I’d like to say thank you to everyone for being here today. Through this entire process—for Lori, Nadia, Lorenzo and Edilea, Brooke, and myself—the friendship, the outreach, the condolences, and the incredible stories we’ve heard about Vince have been so overwhelming that we cannot thank you enough. Words cannot describe the appreciation we have for you all.
Vince’s good friend and best man at his wedding, Alex, was kind enough to create a website, MemoriesofVincent.com, linked to in Vincent’s obituary, where you can submit your stories and pics of Vincent. Please feel free to share your memories, as so many have, so we can share them with Lorenzo and Edilea as they grow. It’s important for our family and his children to never forget what an amazing man and father he was.
So many stories of Vincent, words to describe him like empathy, athleticism, chivalry, kindness—how he spoke for the speechless, defended the defenseless, and helped the helpless.
How Lori and I would describe Vince, our son, would be perfect. Not as a human being so much; but as a son, he was perfect.
I’m a true believer that it takes a village to raise a child. A lot of people have told Lori and me, “You guys raised Vince right. You did that.” Or, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” As much as we’d like to take credit for it, that would not do Vince justice.
It took all of you in this room, and many others not able to be with us today, to make Vincent the person that he was. I feel that Vince took a little piece of each of you in his village, took the best of what we had to offer him, and, in many cases, elevated it to a whole new level.
If I were to ever know an angel on Earth, my son would be the guy.
So again, thank you for playing such a special role in his life.
I have a couple stories about Vince that I would like to share that demonstrate the type of person he was.
Vincent and I are somewhat of autograph hounds. We have a basement full of autographs and memorabilia that we’ve collected over the years, specifically anything to do with golf and other sports.
As a youth, Vincent really embraced golf, and I had the opportunity to take him up to Park Meadows Golf Course, where they had an annual senior golf tournament called the Senior Shootout.
Vince and I arrived at the tournament, and he bought a program. His goal was to get Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and Lee Trevino to sign it. We were told that this was the first time all three of them would be playing in the same group in a tournament format.
Vincent grabbed his program, and we scuttled off to find Lee Trevino. Mission #1 accomplished—Vince got his autograph. We looked around, tracked down Arnold Palmer, and, again, Vince was able to use his charm to get his autograph.
The trifecta was going to be getting Jack Nicklaus’s.
As all three players were ready to tee off at the side of the first tee, putting and practicing, a large crowd of spectators gathered to watch. The announcer called Trevino to the tee box. He walked through the gated ropes, all the fans crowded around, clapping as he strode to the number one tee.
Arnold Palmer was called next.
And then there was Jack Nicklaus, the last autograph Vince needed.
As the crowd separated to let Jack through, we were standing against the ropes. A fellow autograph hound, an older gentleman, said, “Good luck getting Jack Nicklaus’ autograph! He doesn’t like to sign things.”
So I leaned down to Vince and said, “Vince, you might just have to settle for a handshake. I think that would be honor enough.”
As Jack Nicklaus came through, his entourage of reporters, TV camera crew, fans, and tournament staff were walking behind him. Vince snakes under the rope, in the middle of the pathway, steps in front of Jack Nicklaus and says, “Mr. Nicklaus, hi, I’m Vince Romero. Can I shake your hand?”
Jack Nicklaus stops in his tracks, bends down, looks at Vincent, and says, “Well, hi, Vincent. I’m Jack Nicklaus. Yes, I would very much like to shake your hand.”
He shakes Vince’s hand, looks down, and sees Vince holding his program with his little Sharpie.
Jack proceeds to ask Vince, “Would you like me to sign that, Vincent?”
And Vince says, “I would love it!”
Jack grabs the program and signs it.
Vince did it! He got all three players’ autographs on the cover of that program. The crowd around us cheered and clapped. Then Jack Nicklaus proceeds to the number one tee to begin the tournament.
Such a great example of how Vincent was just so charming.
As he grew older and was attending the Madeleine Choir School, Vince wanted to start playing football. So we took him out of Madeleine Choir School, and after his first year playing, when practice had ended, they handed out jerseys. We got in the truck, and I said, “Hey, Vince, what number did you pick?”
“40,” he said.
I was scratching my head, trying to understand why on earth he picked the number 40. “Why?” I finally asked.
“Because Aunt Kathy was 40 years old when she passed away, and I want to wear that number in her honor.”
I just thought that was the sweetest thing. Vince ended up wearing that number all through high school and college. He was always number 40. That tells you about the kind of kid he was: his caring and thinking about others, which endured throughout his life.
The memories we’re hearing from all of you have been phenomenal. I think each of you has some type of story about how he impacted your lives as much as you did his.
But when Vince met Nadia, his life truly changed forever. I’ve never seen him happier. I will never forget the day he came to me saying, “Dad, she is the one. I want to ask for her hand in marriage.” He just lit up when he was with Nadia.
After leaving Salt Lake, moving to Seattle, Washington, D.C., and then Atlanta, they decided to come back home. Our handsome little Lorenzo was born, and they knew it was time to return to family and friends. Soon after, our precious granddaughter Edilea was born.
The father Vincent was to Lorenzo and Edilea was just the most beautiful thing for Lori and me to watch. He was so good to them and loved them dearly.
I was so looking forward to spending the rest of my retirement making great memories with Vince. He was my best buddy.
Nadia, please never forget that your and Vincent’s village is large. It is loyal, strong, and determined to help you in any way. Your family and friends are just a short drive and phone call away. We are there for you whenever you need and to ensure that your children will never forget what a great father, husband, son, brother, and man Vincent was.
I would like to end on this note.
Lori and I, just a couple days ago, read through an entire box of birthday cards, Mother’s and Father’s Day cards, and, yes, a ton of postcards. How Vincent loved to send postcards during his travels!
He would always end every letter and card with these two sentences: “Just wanna make you proud, Mom and Dad,” and “I can’t wait to see you again. Love, Vincent.”
Well, Vince, mission accomplished. Job well done!
Now it is on us to do our very best to return the favor and make you proud. And, of course, we can’t wait to see you again, son.
Thank you all for coming.