Ranieri family raising money for scholarship fund
Terry Ranieri’s legacy is living on through a scholarship fund for Hempfield Area Marching Band students.
Ranieri, who passed away last week, graduated from Hempfield Area School District in 1975, attended home football games regularly in the decades since supporting the marching band and spent time hanging out with friends at the food court of Westmoreland Mall.
Now, family members are working to raise money through a GoFundMe page, dubbing the scholarship Terry Ranieri “Everyone’s Friend” Memorial fund. So far, over $2,560 has been raised by 67 donors, out of a $25,000 goal.
“The purpose of Terry’s GoFundMe is to create a college scholarship fund in his name awarded to a band member every year,” the page reads. “The band was such an important part of Terry’s life, and his family feels it is only appropriate to continue to support them in honor of Terry.”
Hempfield Band Director Brian Tychinski said, “I think setting up a scholarship is an amazing gesture by his family. It will help to preserve the memory — and hopefully the spirit of kindness that Terry embodied. Each time we award the scholarship in the future, we’ll get the opportunity to pass on the story of how one man shaped this community just by being a good person.”
Money from the fund will also be used to cover some funeral expenses, according to the page. A viewing for Ranieri was held Tuesday at Cornerstone Ministries Church, 2200 Cornerstone Lane, Murrysville. A memorial service will be held there at 11 a.m. Wednesday.
The marching band honored Ranieri last week when they played outside his Beacon Valley Road home while he sat at a front window and listened. Ranieri, 64, had come home to hospice care 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 after being diagnosed with cancer.
He had a developmental disorder called Williams syndrome that is marked by unique personality characteristics and distinctive facial features, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Ranieri has been honored several times over the past two weeks including at Friday’s football game against Greensburg Salem. Students were encouraged to wear white in Ranieri’s honor and the marching band played “Amazing Grace” which was followed by a moment of silence.
Hempfield supervisors Monday honored him with a proclamation that acknowledged Ranieri’s love for the community and his desire to bring joy to others.
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