Hempfield band, community show support for Terry Ranieri, their biggest fan
A special performance for a beloved member of the Hempfield community shut down a township neighborhood Tuesday.
Members of the Hempfield Area marching band played outside Terry Ranieri’s Beacon Valley Road home while he sat at a front window and listened from inside. About 100 band members, flanked by at least that many families and other onlookers, showed up to support Ranieri, who has long been a supporter of the district’s program.
“He just brought a smile to every kid’s face for decades,” said band director Brian Tychinski.
Ranieri came home to hospice care Monday after health problems forced him to spend weeks in the hospital, first at Excela Westmoreland in Greensburg and then at UPMC Montefiore in Pittsburgh’s Oakland neighborhood. He has cancer, brother Tony Ranieri said. The visits from friendly faces, dozens of cards and Facebook comments from friends on his Terry Ranieri Official Fanpage brightened the Ranieri family’s spirits during the prolonged hospital stay, Tony Ranieri said.
“It’s been really amazing, the support has been incredible,” he said.
It’s a testament to the impact Terry Ranieri has had on generations of students at Hempfield Area. He graduated from the district in 1975 and attended home football games regularly in the decades since.
He would greet fans at games while watching the band warm up for their halftime show or offer up some of his classic “Terryisms” — such as “jammin’ like Route 30” and “cool like whip.”
“There’s no better reason to be a musician than” to share that gift with others, Tychinski said. “He’s always been a great fan of theirs and they appreciate him.”
Under warm, sunny skies, the band played “Crazy Train,” “Sweet Caroline” and the high school fight song in the middle of a residential neighborhood. The drum line — Ranieri’s favorite — gave him a few percussion solos. Ranieri moved his hands to the beats.
“I think it’s an honor and a privilege, especially because I wasn’t aware how much he loved the band,” said senior Elle Penska, who plays baritone saxophone. “It feels good, especially my last year, being able to give back to someone who means so much to the community like that.”
Clarinet player and band president Sydney Hoffman agreed.
“Doing something like this for him means a lot, especially for me, because we’re giving back to him for all the times he’s supported us, we’re supporting him now,” the senior said.
Fort Allen firefighters, township public works and state police shut down roads as the band paraded through the neighborhood. Members of the color guard and majorettes danced to the music and cheerleaders waved their pom poms.
Some of them know Ranieri, who has a developmental disorder called Williams syndrome, from Westmoreland Mall where he would spend Saturdays. After the performance, they walked up to the window to say hello to their No. 1 fan.
While Ranieri was a patient at UPMC this month, electronic wishes were numerous, Tony Ranieri said.
“Cards just started flying in,” he said.
A hospital employee brought music to Terry’s bedside, his brother said. A video of their duet of Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold” was posted to Ranieri’s fan page and exploded, Tony Ranieri said.
“The family’s so appreciative of everything,” he said.
Onlookers and others who heard about the event through social media flocked to the neighborhood near Hannastown Golf Club. Curk Fry said he remembered Ranieri cheering for runners during cross-country and track meets at Hempfield when Fry ran for Greater Latrobe in the 1990s.
As Fry got older, he’d chat with Ranieri at the mall.
“He spoke to everybody, he didn’t care what they had going on in their lives,” he said. “He had an impact on my life.”
Renatta Signorini is a TribLive reporter covering breaking news, crime, courts and Jeannette. She has been working at the Trib since 2005. She can be reached at rsignorini@triblive.com.
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