Obituary of Michael Rizza

Michael Louis Rizza, a resident of Billerica since 1986, passed away unexpectedly at his home on Thursday morning, January 30, 2014. The beloved husband of 34 years of Margaret “Peggy” Hannon-Rizza, he had just celebrated his 60th birthday. Mike was born in Boston. He was raised and educated in Medford. He was the son of the late Louis and Virginia Rizza. Mike was a Veteran of the Vietnam War serving his country in the United States Navy. He was the recipient of the Good Conduct Award for Service and the National Defense Service Medal. While in the Navy he was assigned as a photographer. Mike developed a passion for photography while in the Navy. After leaving the service he went to the New England School of Photography. Mike had a successful career as a photographer his most recent job working for Hunts Photography where he would manage their EBay online presence. Mike and Peggy enjoyed traveling, fishing, photographing, and camping throughout the country and Nova Scotia. Mike would caption the moments of their trips through his photography which he proudly displayed throughout their home. He was very proud of his son Andrew whom he had a wonderful relationship with. Mike and Andrew had just shared a wonderful day together on Saturday when they attended the dedication of the Peggy Hannon-Rizza Recreation Complex in honor of his wife Peggy’s recent retirement. Mike will be remembered for his humor, his talent and most importantly, his dedicated and love of his wife and son. Mike was the beloved husband of of 34 years of Margaret “Peggy” Hannon-Rizza. Proud father of Andrew Rizza of Billerica. Loving brother of Robert Rizza & his wife Donna of Waltham and David Rizza & his wife Patricia of Burlington. Also survived by many brother-in-laws, sister-in-laws, nieces, nephews and friends. Funeral from the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., BURLINGTON (Exit 34 off Rt. 128, Woburn side) on Monday, Feb. 3 at 9 a.m. Followed by a Mass of Christian Burial in St. Mary’s Church, 796 Boston Road, Billerica at 10 a.m. Visiting hours Sunday 2-5 p.m. Interment in Pine Haven Cemetery, Burlington. In lieu of flowers memorials in Mike’s name may be made to Friends of Billerica Recreation, Inc. 248 Boston Road, Billerica, MA Words by Andrew Micheal or Mike Rizza was many different things to many different people. Son, Brother, Husband, Father, Friend, Photographer, Antique Hunter, Fisherman, eBay Consultant, Artist, Uncle, Prankster, Handy-boy, Teacher, Sailor... Each one a different facet of who he was. No one of us could possibly try to fully describe him, knowing only a piece of who he was, myself included. But I will give it my best shot with words coming from both Peggy and myself. My mother, Peggy, met Mike over 40 years ago at girl scout camp where he and Jay worked as handy-boys. After he graduated from High School, he served in the US Navy as a photographer during the Vietnam War on board the USS Kennedy. After he was discharge he attended New England School of Photography where he learned the fine art of photography. He met so many wonderful people who helped developed his talent and skill there. Throughout this, Mike and Peggy would spend many a weekends exploring the highways and byways of New England, taking photos. Even after I was born, we as a family would continue this exploration and photographing of America as we traveled beyond New England to the rest of the United States and even Nova Scotia. Some of these places were obvious to any who would explore this country. Places like Acadia, Yellowstone, Glacier, Badlands, the Continental Divide, the Redwood Forest, the Pacific Ocean, the Grand Canyon, Crater Lake, Olympia, Arches, Route 66, the Smoky Mountains, Jewel and Wind cave and countless more. But there were others less obvious as we found old abandoned towns, buildings, gas stations, drive-through theaters, the cottage in Arisaig Nova Scotia where they had their honeymoon, and even a ghost town way off the beaten path in North Dakota where we got lost and ended up in someone's driveway. We would visit these amazing places during our yearly vacation, spending 2-3 weeks camping our way across America. When I think about where he has touched us the most, whether family, friends, or even total strangers, it would be through his photography. I once asked him why he took pictures, his response was that when he looked at something, he could just see the picture within it. He didn't seem to think it was some skill or acquired art, but rather some innate talent he just had and could not deny. I half imaged he simply viewed the world through a different lens, one which the rest of us could only catch a glimpse of in picture by accident. Most people behind a camera took pictures, Mike took Art. Another thing that he just seemed to have an innate talent for was his, for a lack of a better term, his antique hunting. Every weekend he would scourer the area, searching for yard sales and flea markets. There he would be like a little kid, searching among the many items on display, finding the hidden treasures among the junk. Taking these home he would put them on eBay. Whether it was a 3 foot tall stuffed frog that was missing its pipe that sold for 200-300 dollars or a piece of junk that he wanted to keep but Mom would have nothing to do with... His findings were often hit or miss, but with Mike, it was more often than not a hit. With Peggy's health as it is, as terrible as it is, seemed to have resulted in a silver lining. I know that I am not alone in saying that in these past few months, we have connected and bonded with Mike more than we had in years. Whether it was through hour long phone conversations, visiting, car rides, or even just connecting with him over Facebook... We have all bonded with him during this difficult time. For the first time since he got his digital camera, he began to look over all his photographs of the last few years and began to apply himself into making prints or posting them online on Facebook or Shorpy. Mike also loved music and was always looking for new bands and sharing those discoveries with anyone who was interested. Given Mike's relationship with our dog, Cody, it is hard to believe that he once didn't like dogs. But with our first dog, Bayley, we managed to somehow turn him into a dog lover. Mike was Peggy's love and best friend and was my own great father. We would like to thank everyone for their overwhelming kindness and generosity during this most difficult time for our family.