IN MEMORY: HUGO JEREISSATI 1954-2009

November 16th, 2009

IMG_7497On Thursday at the Church of St Joseph, 150 of Hugo’s best friends joined together to mourn and celebrate the life of this unique man who touched so much their lives. The Church was beautiful, Father John spoke beautifully and the music and the choir was spectacular. These are the words I wrote for my dear friend: Last August we took our boat to Indonesia on a family trip. For years, Hugo had wanted us to come, and now that we were there, he was going to make sure that everything was perfect… Hugo style. He had organized the best guide, the best diving master and the best itinerary. From the moment we landed, he was there waiting for us, with dancers, gamelong and a shower of frangipani… and kept the magic going the entire time. On our beds, we each found boxes of sarongs carefully chosen.  In East Bali, he took the entire Palace of Tirtangannga on a full moon and turned it into an enchanted evening of dances , music, flowers and delicious food… Hugo style!! He sailed with us to the islands of Samawa, Komodo and Sambawa. He swam and snorkeled, took walks through the villages at sunset and jumped in the waterfalls… he played with little Tassilo, danced with Antonia and Talita and made friends with the 4th generation of my family… Indeed, he had been friends with my mother, myself, my children and now my grandchildren… Hugo style !! On the last day before we left, we visited him in his house in Batujimbar… the peaceful home, the garden, the little temple…we had lunch on the patio… he was very happy and told me he was having the best summer of his life. We had been together in Rio in March and there also he had told me he was happy, happy to have rediscovered his native country and be near his family, his 2 brothers Carlos and Tassos, his sisters Diana, Lea, Vera, and all his adored nephews and nieces. He was planning to get an apartment in Rio and divide his time between the 2 places he loved most - Bali and Brazil. But Hugo was at home everywhere…Pari, New York, London, St Moritz, India, Portugal and Japan. He loved to travel and wherever he went he had friends - famous friends, rich friends, artist friends, talented friends, young friends, children of friends, parents of friends. No one I know had more friends than Hugo… he was a professional friend, he mastered generosity, intimacy, friendship. He was a matchmaker and even though he was not a businessman, he introduced so many to great opportunities and made things happen for them. He had time for the ones he loved and always created a landscape of beauty and harmony…he had a magic wand….Hugo style. It is hard to believe that we will not see him again, hard to believe he is not walking through that door to go with us to lunch at Bar Pitti, hard to believe we cannot call him on the phone for help as we all did for years!! There is little we can do to heal the pain of his loss, but what we must do is be strong, beautiful, successful and happy… that is how he loved us and how he would want us to be. By living fully every day, by appreciating beauty and by being generous and thankful for all we have…we will honor his life, his memory and his spirit… Hugo style. What unites us all today is our love for Hugo, our sadness and our desire to keep him always alive in our hearts. He was very special and we miss him terribly.

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