Wanda Ruggiero used to call her grandson Joseph N. Ruggiero "Joey," family recalled today.
On Friday, 93-year-old Wanda Ruggiero died in hospice care. The same day, 26-year-old Joseph Ruggiero died in an off-road vehicle crash in Roanoke, Va. He was working as a props assistant on the set of the Christian film "Alone Yet Not Alone."
"We were prepared as much as we could be," Joseph Ruggiero's mother, Diana Ruggiero, said of his grandmother's expected death. "But then this … "
Her voice trailed away, leaving only the murmuring of family and friends in the background during a telephone interview tonight.
Diana Ruggiero said her son, a 2002 graduate of Pen Argyl Area High School, was a free spirit. He liked being outdoors and anything having to do with history. He was kind and courteous and tried to live life to the fullest, she said.
His mother also said Joey was a Civil War re-enactor and helped found the pirate re-enacting group Sea Rats Atlantic.
He put everything on hold to work on the movie, which he hoped to use as a springboard to the behind-the-scenes movie career he was interested in.
Diana Ruggiero said the family has yet to learn the details of the crash.
The Roanoke Times quoted authorities as saying Joseph Ruggiero died in a crash involving a utility vehicle that roughly resembles a sturdier version of a golf cart. He died at Carilion Memorial Hospital in Roanoke.
Joseph Ruggiero was a wide receiver on the Pen Argyl Green Knights football team that reached the PIAA Class AA championship in 2001.
His brother, Dan Ruggiero, a senior football player at Ithaca College in New York, returned home tonight from college with their father. It was senior week at Ithaca, but Dan Ruggiero's celebration was tempered by the loss of a brother he said "taught me everything about football."
Joseph Ruggiero was five years older than 21-year-old Dan Ruggiero, who described his brother as "an idealist."
"He lived with the same values of the world from a long time ago," an emotional Dan Ruggiero said. "He was very considerate. That's the truth. I've lost the bond two brothers have. We did everything together."
Asked if there is one story or one thing that Dan Ruggiero will remember about his brother, he recalled what Joseph Ruggiero said to him as Dan Ruggiero went out the door to play his last game of high school football.
Thinking hard for a few moments so he would get the words right, Dan Ruggiero said, "He told me, ‘The days of your life that can make you feel like this are very special ones and they are the ones you live in.'"
Dan Ruggiero said he'll remember that forever.
On Friday, 93-year-old Wanda Ruggiero died in hospice care. The same day, 26-year-old Joseph Ruggiero died in an off-road vehicle crash in Roanoke, Va. He was working as a props assistant on the set of the Christian film "Alone Yet Not Alone."
"We were prepared as much as we could be," Joseph Ruggiero's mother, Diana Ruggiero, said of his grandmother's expected death. "But then this … "
Her voice trailed away, leaving only the murmuring of family and friends in the background during a telephone interview tonight.
Diana Ruggiero said her son, a 2002 graduate of Pen Argyl Area High School, was a free spirit. He liked being outdoors and anything having to do with history. He was kind and courteous and tried to live life to the fullest, she said.
His mother also said Joey was a Civil War re-enactor and helped found the pirate re-enacting group Sea Rats Atlantic.
He put everything on hold to work on the movie, which he hoped to use as a springboard to the behind-the-scenes movie career he was interested in.
Diana Ruggiero said the family has yet to learn the details of the crash.
The Roanoke Times quoted authorities as saying Joseph Ruggiero died in a crash involving a utility vehicle that roughly resembles a sturdier version of a golf cart. He died at Carilion Memorial Hospital in Roanoke.
Joseph Ruggiero was a wide receiver on the Pen Argyl Green Knights football team that reached the PIAA Class AA championship in 2001.
His brother, Dan Ruggiero, a senior football player at Ithaca College in New York, returned home tonight from college with their father. It was senior week at Ithaca, but Dan Ruggiero's celebration was tempered by the loss of a brother he said "taught me everything about football."
Joseph Ruggiero was five years older than 21-year-old Dan Ruggiero, who described his brother as "an idealist."
"He lived with the same values of the world from a long time ago," an emotional Dan Ruggiero said. "He was very considerate. That's the truth. I've lost the bond two brothers have. We did everything together."
Asked if there is one story or one thing that Dan Ruggiero will remember about his brother, he recalled what Joseph Ruggiero said to him as Dan Ruggiero went out the door to play his last game of high school football.
Thinking hard for a few moments so he would get the words right, Dan Ruggiero said, "He told me, ‘The days of your life that can make you feel like this are very special ones and they are the ones you live in.'"
Dan Ruggiero said he'll remember that forever.
Wanda Ruggiero used to call her grandson Joseph N. Ruggiero "Joey," family recalled today.
On Friday, 93-year-old Wanda Ruggiero died in hospice care. The same day, 26-year-old Joseph Ruggiero died in an off-road vehicle crash in Roanoke, Va. He was working as a props assistant on the set of the Christian film "Alone Yet Not Alone."
"We were prepared as much as we could be," Joseph Ruggiero's mother, Diana Ruggiero, said of his grandmother's expected death. "But then this … "
Her voice trailed away, leaving only the murmuring of family and friends in the background during a telephone interview tonight.
Diana Ruggiero said her son, a 2002 graduate of Pen Argyl Area High School, was a free spirit. He liked being outdoors and anything having to do with history. He was kind and courteous and tried to live life to the fullest, she said.
His mother also said Joey was a Civil War re-enactor and helped found the pirate re-enacting group Sea Rats Atlantic.
He put everything on hold to work on the movie, which he hoped to use as a springboard to the behind-the-scenes movie career he was interested in.
Diana Ruggiero said the family has yet to learn the details of the crash.
The Roanoke Times quoted authorities as saying Joseph Ruggiero died in a crash involving a utility vehicle that roughly resembles a sturdier version of a golf cart. He died at Carilion Memorial Hospital in Roanoke.
Joseph Ruggiero was a wide receiver on the Pen Argyl Green Knights football team that reached the PIAA Class AA championship in 2001.
His brother, Dan Ruggiero, a senior football player at Ithaca College in New York, returned home tonight from college with their father. It was senior week at Ithaca, but Dan Ruggiero's celebration was tempered by the loss of a brother he said "taught me everything about football."
Joseph Ruggiero was five years older than 21-year-old Dan Ruggiero, who described his brother as "an idealist."
"He lived with the same values of the world from a long time ago," an emotional Dan Ruggiero said. "He was very considerate. That's the truth. I've lost the bond two brothers have. We did everything together."
Asked if there is one story or one thing that Dan Ruggiero will remember about his brother, he recalled what Joseph Ruggiero said to him as Dan Ruggiero went out the door to play his last game of high school football.
Thinking hard for a few moments so he would get the words right, Dan Ruggiero said, "He told me, ‘The days of your life that can make you feel like this are very special ones and they are the ones you live in.'"
Dan Ruggiero said he'll remember that forever.
On Friday, 93-year-old Wanda Ruggiero died in hospice care. The same day, 26-year-old Joseph Ruggiero died in an off-road vehicle crash in Roanoke, Va. He was working as a props assistant on the set of the Christian film "Alone Yet Not Alone."
"We were prepared as much as we could be," Joseph Ruggiero's mother, Diana Ruggiero, said of his grandmother's expected death. "But then this … "
Her voice trailed away, leaving only the murmuring of family and friends in the background during a telephone interview tonight.
Diana Ruggiero said her son, a 2002 graduate of Pen Argyl Area High School, was a free spirit. He liked being outdoors and anything having to do with history. He was kind and courteous and tried to live life to the fullest, she said.
His mother also said Joey was a Civil War re-enactor and helped found the pirate re-enacting group Sea Rats Atlantic.
He put everything on hold to work on the movie, which he hoped to use as a springboard to the behind-the-scenes movie career he was interested in.
Diana Ruggiero said the family has yet to learn the details of the crash.
The Roanoke Times quoted authorities as saying Joseph Ruggiero died in a crash involving a utility vehicle that roughly resembles a sturdier version of a golf cart. He died at Carilion Memorial Hospital in Roanoke.
Joseph Ruggiero was a wide receiver on the Pen Argyl Green Knights football team that reached the PIAA Class AA championship in 2001.
His brother, Dan Ruggiero, a senior football player at Ithaca College in New York, returned home tonight from college with their father. It was senior week at Ithaca, but Dan Ruggiero's celebration was tempered by the loss of a brother he said "taught me everything about football."
Joseph Ruggiero was five years older than 21-year-old Dan Ruggiero, who described his brother as "an idealist."
"He lived with the same values of the world from a long time ago," an emotional Dan Ruggiero said. "He was very considerate. That's the truth. I've lost the bond two brothers have. We did everything together."
Asked if there is one story or one thing that Dan Ruggiero will remember about his brother, he recalled what Joseph Ruggiero said to him as Dan Ruggiero went out the door to play his last game of high school football.
Thinking hard for a few moments so he would get the words right, Dan Ruggiero said, "He told me, ‘The days of your life that can make you feel like this are very special ones and they are the ones you live in.'"
Dan Ruggiero said he'll remember that forever.
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