In Memory
Andrea Mucci - Class of 1969
Andrea was born on September 19, 1951 and passed away on Thursday, August 13, 2009.
Andrea was a resident of Coventry, Connecticut at the time of his passing.
He graduated from the University of Bridgeport.
A prayer service will be held Wednesday (August 19, 2009) at 7pm at Porter?s Funeral Home, 111 Chamberlain Highway, Berlin. Burial will be at the convenience of the family. Friends and relatives are invited to call at the funeral home on Wednesday (August 19, 2009) from 4-7pm.
Greg Jones (1969)
Andrea was one of my best friends at SAHS. He lived up the street from me in the USOM section of base housing at Yong San, Andrea came to Seoul after living some years in London, and had a bit of an accent. In the 1960's everything British was exceedingly "cool." He was a great guy and a great friend. Incredibly funny, always a story to tell, frequently confused in the details. Andrea loved life; to wear 'hippie' or far out styles, dance, hang out, talk about life, hopes and dreams, and of course share some OB beers.
We had a lot of adventures, some shareable, some better not told here. In the summer of '68, between junior and senior year, Andrea, Kenn Douglas and I adventured to Japan. Taking the UN train to Pusan and then by ship to Sasebo. We wandered Japan using the rail system and staying in local inns and clubs. I recall one morning when Andrea ordered the inn's Japanese breakfast without asking what it would be. His face was hilarious when he lifted the cover to find cold rice, dried sea weed and a raw egg. He ate it all, but made a point not to order the Japanese breakfast again during our travels.
On one of our trips, Andrea and I stayed in a Korean village at a yougwan, a local village inn, sharing a rice straw mattress. It was a rough night, straw poking through the matresss cover, and some little critters chowing down on our flesh. We spent the rest of the trip scratching, occasionally taking turns scratching and putting lotion on each other's backs. Andrea took it all with a laugh, showing that great smile of his.
I lost track of Andrea after graduation, but found him again later in life. Also a Roman Catholic he found it unbelievable and actually hilarious that I had become a priest. Far from the wild child he knew from high school.
Andrea had a difficult life, a harsh/volatile father while growing up, a broken marriage, and later in life dealing with severe mental health issues. He suffered with paranoid schizophrenia. As his disease progressed he could no longer speak on the phone. When I called he would pick up the receiver and listen to whatever I had to say. Finally I received a note from his daughter telling me that he passed, gone to God. RIP.
Though happy that Andrea no longer had to suffer, it was a terrible loss which left me broken-hearted.