On July 20th, at a Celebration of Natalie’s Life, her brother, Simon Racioppa, delivered the following words about his sister. He absolutely captured the essence of Natalie ...
... Let’s begin by saying there’s way too much in Nat’s life to recap here today. It’d be impossible. I could talk for hours, don’t worry I won’t, and I wouldn’t scratch the surface of who Natalie was.
Instead, I want to pick four aspects of Nat that I know we’ll all recognize. It’s the barest summation, the smallest memorial to her - but as an artist, Nat would already be telling me to focus, to simplify, to edit.
I’m not saying these four words are rules for living life, or stuff we should all cultivate within ourselves, but I’d like to think that because of her condition, because she knew she had limited time, Nat had a few things figured out…
Nat was BOLD – maybe it was because she knew she had less time that she just didn’t wait. For anything. She backpacked. Slept on the deck of a riverboat down the Nile. Travelled solo to South Africa. Took too many trips across Europe to mention. She once went to Spain from London for lunch! Yes, just lunch! And of course, she moved her entire life from Canada to the UK, living there for over two decades, before returning home.
Nat didn’t have the time to wait for something she wanted. So she didn’t wait. Quick story: when she and Nigel were moving back to Canada from London, Tanis and I brought them out here for a summer weekend. Tanis had been coming here for years, so we took them on a tour, visited a few wineries, had some great food, and finally a backyard bonfire at Stew Jones’ place where local winemakers showed up with seemingly bottomless bottles of their new releases.
I’m not sure if this was Tanis’ plan all along, but if it was, it worked. Barely a month or two later, Nat and Nigel bought a gorgeous little farmhouse on ten acres out in Cressi – they bought it OFF OF FACEBOOK sight unseen. I don’t think Nat even bargained, much to the endless frustration of our financially minded sister Erin.
Quick aside, Erin has stories of her and Nat sneaking out onto the roof of our parents’ home when they were barely ten, to spy on the neighbourhood from two-stories up – they only got discovered because our neighbor across the street ratted them out.
Nat was also famously GENEROUS – our family has a rule, maybe one some of you know, that when out for a day with Nat, browsing shops in London, in Wales, in Toronto, in Picton, never EVER mention that you like something. A jacket. A knickknack. A jar of spicy pickles. Because before you knew it, Nat would come out of the shop, having bought it for you.
Not to say Nat was careless with money, she wasn’t, but she delighted in treating her friends and family unexpectedly and often.
Which is a nice way to segue to… LOVE – Nat loved her large family. She had three other sisters, two brothers, two nieces, two nephews, endless cousins and more, both here and across the ocean in England.
And of course, she loved Nigel. I know, you’re all thinking – who wouldn’t love this guy? But Nat did deeply – she was still worrying about him even at the very end.
But as I’m sure many of you know, family wasn’t the border of Nat’s love. She loved her friends, old and new, and sometimes SO new she just met them two minutes ago at the bar and now they’ve exchanged emails and did you know that Sara here used to work at bank of Montréal and has three children and we’re gonna start a business together!
Nat also loved her work. Whether it was studying at OCA, or getting her master’s degree in the UK. She loved making art, she loved her print making, her graphic design, her teaching.
Her work hangs in hundreds of homes all over the world, and while Nat might be gone, the REAL tragedy will be how terrible all the logos and design work in the county will be now. I’m telling you, all you business owners, brewmasters, and community groups, don’t let those logos she did for you go – you’re never getting anything that good again.
Nat loved beautiful things, again Nigel, and didn’t have time for even the most mundane things her in home that didn’t delight or inspire her. She knew what beauty was and wanted it in her life.
Our last word is COURAGE – Nigel has a story that not long after he and Nat started dating, she told him about her heart. For anyone here who doesn’t know, Nat was born with a congenital heart condition, that also caused numerous other health problems throughout her life as it progressed. At the time, doctors gave her until forty-six, which to a young Nigel and Nat, still in their twenties, might as well have been forever. But even with a bonus decade, it still feels like fifty-seven came too far too soon…
But I’d like to think that because of who she was, Nat took that ticking clock, that deadline, and used it to squeeze twenty-five hours into every twenty-four.And she did it fearlessly, facing down not just a heart long out of warranty, but so many other challenges without complaint.
If we’re being honest, maybe Nat had a little TOO much courage – and I’m not talking about her short-lived attempt to commute on a scooter through London traffic. It’s all the late-night ER visits, the increasingly invasive medical treatments, the close calls she had over the years that she downplayed or didn’t even mention or managed to wave off with a smile and the smallest wince.
Of course, her boldness, her generosity, her love, her courage – barely scratch the surface of Nat. This is an imperfect, incomplete, lacking, and failed summary of my sister. Nat can’t be reduced to four words, a hundred photos, and two hours in Picton town hall.
But that’s okay.
You all knew her, you all spent time with her, you all were enriched in some way by having her in your life… We all were.
So in the end, while I’m unbearably sad we only had fifty-seven years with her, I’m overwhelmed with gratitude and happiness that we had fifty-seven years with her.
Thank you.