Peretti Family (Cousins)

Entered May 28, 2020 from Maple ON

Dearest Mattacchione & Willis Families,
We are so very saddened that our dear Terry has passed. We will cherish wonderful memories of his bright smile, great wit, and the warmest hugs ever! Terry will be forever in our hearts. Sincerest condolences, Marco, Josie, Alessandra and Romano Peretti

Michael Finnigan (Lifelong friend; friends forever)

Entered May 28, 2020 from Terra Cotta

You are in a better place. Soon enough, we shall see and be with you again. Speranza and your family will then rejoice with you, never to be apart again.

Christine Parrinder (Life long friend)

Entered May 28, 2020 from Belleville Ont.

I shall miss Terry always. We have been friends since we were children. Terry had a big heart and in spite of the tough exterior was kind and compassionate and a big Teddy Bear. He loved laughter and loved deeply.

Jane Battello (Friend)

Entered May 28, 2020 from Mississauga

My sincerest condolences to Sperenza and family. It is always hard to find the right words for this difficult time but know that my heart filled prayers are with you all. Although from a far, Sperenza I hope you can feel my arms hugging you tightly . Sending all my love & prayers

Alfonso Giordano (Friend)

Entered May 28, 2020 from Toronto

Terry was a respectable and respectful gentleman. We will be missing Him, May His soul ascend to Heaven with the Angels, and may God welcome Him. Our deepest condolences to all Family. 🙏🙏🙏❤

Big Terry....I smile and laugh when I remember growing up and people calling the house asking for Terry. Sure enough whoever answered the phone asked “do you want big Terry or little Terry?“

Big Terry liked being Big Terry. He grew early and it became part of his identity. I admired his physical size and strength as a little boy growing up. Big meaty hands, Popeye forearms, big strong ass and legs, none of that was passed down to me. The bar was awfully high in my house trying to measure up physically with his 19” biceps and benching 4 plates.....I never came close.

He was fast also, he had those explosive fast twitch muscles that again I never got. He would always say to me that there was “no substitute for speed”. It helped him in sports....getting a good jump on a fly ball, shooting the gap in the defensive line or winning races for loose pucks. He always had fast cars no matter how impractical they were for a family of 4 and sometimes 2 hockey bags/sticks going to a rink.

He had a great laugh....a belly laugh that was real and loud. We used to come home after my hockey games and I would be downstairs eating and watching TV and he would get on the phone with another parent and talk about the game. He would laugh and the house would shake.

I also admired from a far how personable he was. He had no problem walking up to strangers and introducing himself. I could never do that....something else he never passed down to me. Sometimes it got him into trouble. Once he and my mom were waiting for me after a game and he got talking to another parent on my team. The conversation turned to who they thought the better goalie was and my dad gave his opinion. Well turns out the guy he is talking to is the dad of the goalie he didn’t particularly like....that had to be a little awkward.

So what will I remember about my dad? I think you’re pretty lucky if you can grow up and look up to and be proud of your dad. For me it was easy.....he was the biggest, strongest, toughest dad in the neighborhood. I will remember wanting to be like him growing up in Belleville and just being a boy mucking down down at the river. So I would hike down to the Credit River with my fishing pole and his old spear and go torment the spawning salmon. I will remember having a catch......nothing more pure in life than having a catch with the man who taught you. I will remember shagging fly balls he would hit to me and I’d rope it back to him 10ft off the ground on a line, one-hopping it so it was easy for him to catch. I will remember shooting pucks at the school across the street because I wanted to get better and because I knew it made him happy. I will remember being 9 or 10 and bugging him to let me play hockey with his friends Saturday nights at Weston arena. I was chasing the puck everywhere probably bugging everyone but it wasn’t long before everyone was asking he to come out as I got bigger, stronger and better. And my dad always made sure that we were on the same team cause he knew I would find him back-door for a couple of easy tap ins.

Deep down behind the tough guy persona though was a man that cared for his family and friends. He was a teddy bear that dearly loved and missed his mom and that he did pass down to me.

He was my biggest fan in hockey and in life. May 25th, 2020 my dad died and part of me died as well. He was my hero, I will miss him.