ATTENTION: Would the person (a relative of
someone who works at the Sacred Heart Home) who sent an email on
12/2/03 regarding the Sacred Heart Home, please resend it to the same
address. It was accidently deleted on the server after being read. It
was a very nice letter, please resend it.
DAD'S LAST NEW YEAR'S
EVE
by
Brother James A. Petrait,
O.S.F.S.
My father, John, was suffering from lung cancer at the Sacred Heart
Home for Incurable Cancer in Philadelphia towards the end of 1983. My
mother and I made it a point to pray for Dad at the tomb of St. John
Neumann on Friday, December 30, 1983. We also acquired a relic of the
saint while there.
The next morning of New Year's eve, we were
informed that Dad had passed away at 4 AM. We made the necessary
arrangements for his funeral and the funeral director chose January
5th as the next available date for his burial. That day was also the
feast day of St. John Neumann. The funeral director also informed us
that the burial plot was in the St. John Neumann Section of Holy
Redeemer Cemetary.
Surely our prayers were answered through the
intercession of St. John Neumann and his relic was placed in Dad's
coffin. Prayer does work and St. John Neumann is a powerful
intecessor.
BIOGRAPHICAL
NOTE
John J. Petrait, Sr. died at the age of 74 and lived in the Port
Richmond section of Philadelphia, PA. He was a former manager of the
Princeton Club of Philadelphia which during the seventies also
included the Harvard and Yale Clubs of Philadelphia. He retired in
1978 after 41 years at the club which was located at 1811 Walnut St.
(and previously at 12th and Locust Sts.) His retirement was held
during a luncheon at the club which included many notable
Philadelphians who were graduates of the IVY League schools. The
photo below shows him entering his home after his retirement party
and carrying the Princeton hat and jacket which were given to him.
During the Second World War, he worked at the Cramp Shipyard in
Philadelphia and also was a port inspector for the U.S. Coast Guard
Reserve. His wife, Antonina, died on Christmas Day, 1993, ten years
after his passing away. That story can be found elsewhere at this
website.
MY DAD, JOHN J. PETRAIT,
SR.
