It has been two years, but you will never be forgotten by your Stephen Ministry friends at St. Patrick's Church.  Rest in God's arms, Ben.

He was my teacher in Salesian High School in New Rochelle, NY. He was a caring, dedicated instructor, very knowledgable and intelligent, and a true gentleman. I am very saddened to learn of his passing. My heartfelt sympathy to his family and friends, and all who loved him.

Not lost, but gone before.

I just learned of Ben's passing today.  I worked with Ben at Mercy College many years ago.  He was a very kind and decent man.  I will always remember him fondly.   

Dear teri and family, the tribute and remembrances Benedict deserved finally happened in God's presence and in His house. The tributes i have read were from those who loved Ben, especially those who acknowledged yours. I'm grateful I got the email with the updates. Like I said before even though we never met, it was alot of fun being a classmate of Benedict liuzzo many years ago.  Maureen Cavallaro, immaculate conception, class of 64.

Thank you Teri, Philip and family for the most beautiful Memorial Service this past Saturday! It has helped me bring some closure to the passing of our dear brother Stephen Minister. Teri's eulogy was very moving and a beautiful testimony to Ben's legacy: a life of meaning. May our Lord bring you continued strength and comfort.

Ben's Mass Saturday was so very beautiful and the outpouring of love from his many friends and family was palpable.  God's peace was with us all.  Thank you, Terri, for sharing this blessed occasion with the Stephen Ministry. 

Remembering this special man on the anniversary of his "Homecoming."  Rest in God's glory, my good friend.  Looking forward to the day when we can all be together again.

There was never a nicer person than Ben. From the minute we met him he was warm, fun, lloving and became part of our extended family. My parents called him their Sicilian son-in-law as they always thought of Teri as a daughter. His devotion to his family and his love for them were infinite. He will be so missed. 

I am blessed to have had Ben & Teri as my neighbors in Huntersville, NC. They were both fixtures in our neighborhood, Stephens Grove, for nearly 20 years. I have missed seeing them walking their beloved black lab, Midnight, since they moved to Florida. Ben was just the kindest man & what a quiet wit he had! My heart hurts for Teri & Phillip. My prayers for peace & healing in this unimaginably difficult time. 

I first met "Mr. Liuzzo" when I stepped into his English class in freshman year at Salesian High School in New Rochelle, NY in --- dare I say it --- 1973.  He taught me how to express my thoughts in clear and thoughtful manner; he instilled in me a love of reading.  He was a mentor to his students.  He is one of the men --- I had the good fortune to have know many in those years --- who instilled in me a love of teaching that led me back to Salesian HS in 1982 in the role of teacher.

I lost contact with Ben by the time my four-year teaching career had begun.  How joyous was the day that I realized that my son's religious education instructor at St. Mark Church in Huntersville, NC (circa 1997) was the wife of my old mentor.  I then had the honor and privilege to work alongside Ben as a friend in various ministries at St. Mark.  He was as upstanding a gentleman as they come, and I will forever count him among those who influenced a young man in such a positive manner.

A few years ago, one of *my* former students saw me thanked me for the positive influence I had had on *his* life, so I know the feeling that Ben experienced when I told him just what an influence he had on my life.

Here's remembering a life *well-lived.*  While we may consider it too short a life, he lived a life of faith and friendship that I will look forward to renewing in the next life.

Ben Liuzzo, I am what I am because of you, and because of a select few others like you.

Daniel Hill
Salesian HS, Class of 1977

I knew Benedict in grade school at immaculate conception in the bronx.  I sat next to him in the fourth grade and he spoke softly even then and somehow even made his love of baseball entertaining. Although I did lose touch with him, I saw his listing on line when I read about his uncle fr. Vincent and fr. Ignatius both of whom I grew up around and knew fondly. Praise God for the legacy he leaves.  Blessings to teri and their son.  Maureen cavallaro 

Ben was one of the first folks I met when arriving as pastor at St Mark in 2014. His enthusiasm and commitment was inspiring. As a volunteer sacristan he was always solicitous for the well-being of the priests and deacons. When he and Teri decided to move to Fl, they were sorely missed. He was certainly a blessing to us, and now through our prayers, we can be a blessing to him. Rest In Peace.

I had the honor of meeting Ben as a fellow Stephen Minister and working alongside him through various training exercises.   When we heard that he had gotten sick and had taken a turn, we prayed so fervently for him and his wife Terri and their son.   A couple of hours before we received the notice of his passing, I felt a very peaceful presence and the symbolism of a butterfly.   Very strong,  very peaceful and expressed in Ben’s voice with reassurance that all will be ok.   I am praying that Ben watches over his family while they try to make sense of it.  My prayers and condolences go out to them that they feel the everlasting love of Jesus and His Blessed Mother during this time and always.   Until we meet again Ben.   I will remember when I saw you last in the printing line at Office Max where we were talking art and life.  Rest easy and remember to help us all out in the Stephen Ministry.  ❤️🙏🏻

My wife (Linda) and I have known Ben since he met Terri. He always had a tendency to brighten a room. He was a very special, friendly, warm person. God must have some unique plans for this most special person. We will miss him. We send our sincere condolences and prayers to Terri, Phil, and family for your loss. May God Bless You.  

Only knew Ben for a short period of time as a Eucharistic Minister with me at St. Patrick Church . What a beautiful person and how he so much loved the ministry to help serve at our Church .  My thoughts and prayers are with you Terri .  

Got to know Ben when TIAA  relocated to Charlotte.  A lovely, lovely gentleman and lucky to have a great family and friends.  My sincerest condolences to entire family for their loss.  He will be missed by all who loved him.  RIP

Similar to many who have written, I also had the honor of getting to know Ben through the Stephen Ministry.  Ben was a natural leader and mentor who  offered not only wise words, but also a sense of compassion for his fellow ministers and the ministry. Although I have only known Ben for a short period of time, he will be forever remembered as a man of principle and kindness.  He will also be imprinted in my memory one with whom I shared commonalities: 
native New Yorker--although we came from opposite poles:  he, from the city and I from way upstate--Yankee fan, teacher of crazy high school freshmen and lover of Italian food.  God bless you , Ben, Terri and family. You are all in my family's prayers. 

I recently met Ben while working with the team from St. Patrick's who were responsible for creating the directory for our parish. I photographed the ministries of our church. I would send them to Ben via Drop Box, and Ben would create templates for the various pages of the directory. It was a pleasure working and meeting with Ben. The attached  photo was our last meeting on March 2.  Ben was a positive and happy person. I am saddened by his passing, and pray that he is at peace. 
Ron Curtin

I had the privilege of meeting Ben in St. Patrick's first Stephen Ministry training classes.  Ben's contributions to the growth of our ministry are inestimable and he will be sorely missed.  I didn't get to know Ben well but he always showed the glow of God's love in his face and his words, I will never forget his beautiful smile that lit up his eyes and his gentle manner.  I know he is busy in Heaven glorifying God as he did here on earth.

Ben Liuzzo was my Freshman year English teacher at Salesian High School in New Rochelle, NY.  He was an excellent teacher, was very soft spoken, and was very pious. He was especially funny when he assigned us to read the book “The Odessa File” and forewarned us about not getting stuck on page 21 (a sex scene)! I saw him at my reunion in May. We had a mass and he read the Responsorial Psalm - it was great to see him after four decades!  God bless you, Mr Liuzzo.

Ben was a very engaged participant in the first Steven Ministers training at The Church of Saint Patrick. That is where I met him in October 2019. I knew that everyone in the class was a committed and loving Christian and Ben was certainly a shining example. He spoke softly, always saying something kind and positive, laughing easily and most of all, if you can truly read one's soul through the eyes, his showed kindness.  He was blessed to enter Heaven on Easter, the most important day of the year. We will all miss him and I  offer my most sincere and deepest sympathies along with prayers to his wife Terri, his son and family.

  I met Ben just 9 months ago when he came on board as a key member of the Photo Directory Team at the Church of St. Patrick.  I knew right away that he was a star - especially when he walked in with bags of chocolate candy for each of our team members!   He had that rare mix of being kind, gentle, caring, smart and funny, to say nothing of his amazing ability to be our design/layout master for the project.   Ben was always able to bring expertise and humor to our team interactions and could be counted on to help in any way he could.  I learned so much from him just by being around him; he served as a role model for being a devout Christian and a Catholic.   I will forever be grateful that I had 9 months to know Ben and develop a wonderful friendship with him.  I am a better person for having had Ben in my life and he will be sorely missed.  He is now making heaven a better place, too.....

I’m honored to have met Ben and working with him to start our Stephen Ministry. I looked up to him as he was a great fit and so skilled for this group. I will miss him and thank you for sharing his time with us. He had a knack for challenging us during our training and was always attentive and providing great feedback. I was looking forward to spending more time with him as I enjoyed his humor and stories.  I pray for your loss of him - he is a good man. Michael Jay

I had the honor of meeting Ben through our Stephen Ministry. Ben, Michael Jay and myself were prayer partners. While I only knew Ben for several months we had the opportunity to share much. The training was quite intense and through various exercises we shared much personal information which, I feel, created a special bond that I had hoped to share for years to come. It wasn't meant to happen that way but I and many others, will cherish Ben's memory, his quick New York wit, his pleasant smile and his insightful observations. We also had the chance to share some ideas on a subject we both loved..food. I honestly feel that because of training with him I will make a better minister & am grateful for having the "Ben" experience. Joe Holleran

OBITUARY

Benedict Anthony Liuzzo

19 December, 1950 – 12 April, 2020

Robert Toale & Sons Funeral Home at Palms Memorial Park

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