Gregory Milane 11/15/1946 - 7/25/2009





• Eulogy given by Lara Milane

• Memorial site set up by Josh Milane

- Spoken at the funeral by his daughter and Josh's wife, Lara Milane (an angel spoke to us)

"Gregory Milane was a great man. Above all else he loved his wife and had such great loyalty and devotion to Diane, the type that most women dream of but never witness. As well as being a fairytale husband, Greg was a great father. He loved his sons so much and was so very proud of both Josh and Joe.

Greg was the center of our family. He was the backbone that gave us strength and support. He was amazing. He was our glue. Our super glue. Josh and Joe, along with Diane (and the dogs of course) were the focus of his life. Even though Josh and Joe are both in their thirties now, Greg worried about them both. Although he was so very proud of them and all that they have accomplished so far, he knew they had a long journey ahead with many challenges that they would need to conquer. Although life never seems to work out this way, Greg just wanted everyone he loved to have an easy life with no hardship. He strived for peace for simplicity. That’s all he wanted, for his family to be happy. God, We loved him so much.

Our hope was to all move to California after I graduate. He would always tease me about school and say, “your not done with your thesis yet, what’s the matter with you?!” He’d say, “your still writing that paper?” but that was the plan, after I graduated, we were all going to move to San Diego. He would have loved it there. I imagined him riding his bike along the beach highways, the wind and sand in his hair, coasting along on the open road. I thought he would find some peace there. And he was going to be the greatest grandfather. It just seemed like it was meant to be, I can see it so clearly – Greg holding his future grandchildren, him smiling, them small and lost in his muscles. He would be so tender with them. That was in our future plan, the life of our family. He would have adored them, spoiled them, and as he promised, brought them drums!

Greg had so much to be proud of it, but he was not the boastful or bragging type. Greg was a self-made success. He worked so hard to provide for Diane, Josh, and Joe. And he did. He went from working in the shipyards to starting his own company and he worked hard, very hard. He was so successful. But Greg didn’t think of himself as a success story, as he said, he just did what he had to do.

He was a hero. He worked so hard everyday. He took care of Diane and never asked for help even though he had multiple sclerosis. Greg had a hard life. He faced many challenges, but he never gave up. He was a true hero. our hero. And we are all so proud and thankful for everything that he did in his life. For how hard he worked to provide for his family and take care of his family. For every extra step he would take as a great friend. For being “that guy” that you could count on.

Greg was the most reliable man. I don’t mean if you said be there at noon that he wouldn’t be late – I mean he was someone you could count on, solid. He was my rock. Greg was the one person in this world, besides my husband, that I knew I could count on. I knew if I needed anything , anything, he would be there for me. And he was. I was so very lucky to have such a great man in my life and on my side.

Greg was the type of guy you wanted on your side. He would do ANYTHING for the people he loved. All of here today, his friends and family, know that he would have done anything for us. Greg was the type of man who would be by your side no matter what. He would stand by you, no questions asked, even if you were wrong, because that’s who he was.

If I had to pick a motto for Greg it would that Gregory was a man who ALWAYS DID THE RIGHT THING. He took good care of the people he loved and he did whatever it took to make them happy and keep them safe. He was noble and loyal, trustworthy and caring, he was also playful and mischievous, and – on occasion, short tempered, but HE ALWAYS DID THE RIGHT THING.

I know none of us got to say goodbye. If I could, I’d say – thank you Dad, for being such a great man. For coming into my life and bringing joy. Thank you for always being there for me and for helping me feel safe because I knew I would always have you. thank you for loving us all so much. Thank you for working so hard at keeping us all going and keeping us together. And thank you always for making it your mission to make me laugh. You were a wonderful Dad. i am so lucky to have had you in my life. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH. keep yourself safe until we meet again.

Well, I know Greg hated poetry. I would always make him read my writing but i know poetry wasn’t his cup of tea. Even though he didn’t like it, I don’t think he would object so much to me reading two poems today."