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Rich Center for Autism is legacy of victims of Flight 427 crash 20 years ago
POLAND
The Ricchiuti and Rubino families will gather at 7:04 p.m. Monday at the cemetery where Anthony and Paula (Rubino) Rich are buried to remember the young couple killed 20 years ago in the crash of USAir Flight 427.
The families get together each year at that precise moment to say a prayer and share a moment of silence — and wonder what might have been, said Rose Rubino of Poland, Paula’s mother.
“We laugh, and we cry,” said Phyllis Ricchiuti, Anthony’s mother.
The Rubinos have two daughters, Jacqueline Marchionda and JoAnna Schiraldi, both of Poland; and seven grandchildren.
The Ricchiutis have three children, Drs. Vincent and Daniel of Youngstown, and Julie Mark of Akron; and nine grandchildren.
Coming from Chicago, Flight 427 crashed in Hopewell, Pa., shortly after 7 p.m. just seven miles from landing at Pittsburgh International Airport. All 127 passengers and five crew members were killed, including Anthony and Paula and their unborn child.
Anthony and Paula, of North Yarmouth, Maine, both formerly of Poland, were returning home from visiting the Rubino family’s village in Italy with Paula’s parents, Fernando (Fred) and Rose Rubino, when the two couples got separated for the flight home.
The Rubinos flew home on TWA, but TWA wouldn’t accept the Riches’ tickets, and they came back on Flight 427. Ironically Anthony, a commercial pilot, flew for USAir.
He always told me: “‘Mom, if I ever die in a plane crash, you’ll know I died happy,’” Phyllis Ricchiuti said.
Anthony’s parents, Dr. Robert and Phyllis, said they went back to their ancestral name, Ricchiuti, because Anthony and Paula had discussed making that change.
Rich Center
Though tempered by time, their loss remains fresh in the minds of the Ricchiutis and Rubinos.
Family members, however, say two positive things emerged from the tragedy that have helped them deal with the pain: the strong and continuing bond between their families and the Rich Center for Autism at Youngstown State University.
The Rich Center was founded in 1995 with memorial funds donated after the deaths.
Co-founders are Phyllis Ricchiuti, Rose Rubino, Jacqueline Marchionda, Geri Kosar and her daughter, Beth Kosar. Beth’s sons, Brian and Josh, are autistic.
“I am so extremely proud of that center,” Rose said.
“We remember Paula’s and Tony’s birthdays. Paula would have been 49 Aug. 28 and Tony would have been 48 in May. We went to Italy to celebrate her birthday. What a great time we had, and then it turned out so tragic,” said Rose.
There are constant reminders of what might have been.
“I went to Holy Name Catholic School for my newest little grandson’s first day in kindergarten this year and saw one of Paula’s best friends with her youngest child. I looked at her and thought, if only Paula could be here now,” Rose said.
“There have been five children, five joyous additions to the family, since Paula passed away. But, when I go to a wedding or a family dinner, there’s always somebody missing. It really touches your heart,” she said.
“It’s hard not to wonder what might have been had they lived,” Phyllis said. “I think they would have been back living in town and their child would have graduated from high school.”
Siblings
Siblings also were devastated by the deaths.
JoAnna Schiraldi was 19 when her older sister died.
“I looked up to my sister. We were very close. I thought, why not me? They were just married and had a child on the way. I had a lot of guilt about it,” JoAnna said.
“Luckily, I’m blessed with close family who have always talked about them and kept them a part of our lives. Paula and Tony would like that,” she said.
“I’m married now and have children they will never meet,” said JoAnna, who named her third child, the first girl grandchild in the family, Paulina Rose after her sister, Paula, and her mother, Rose.
Dr. Julie (Ricchiuti) Mark also named a child, Alexa Pauline, after Paula, and Jacqueline and Dominic Marchionda are her godparents.
“At the time, it was completely shocking and devastating. Your whole world changes in an instant. You lose the two of them and their potential children and family times, and having them get to share all of your children. I’d give anything to see them walk back through the door,” said Jacqueline.
But, they have a great legacy, the Rich Center, said Jacqueline, who with her husband are chairmen of the 2014 Paula and Anthony Rich PAR Gold Memorial Golf Tournament at The Lake Club in Poland. Honorary chairmen are Ed and Chris Muransky and Christopher Marchionda.
Fundraiser
The two-day fundraiser, which began last Friday with a dinner, auction and entertainment for corporate sponsors; and Monday, the golf tournament, benefits The Rich Center for Autism. Several members of the Ricchiuti and Rubino families serve on the event committee.
Jacqueline, who named her third son Anthony Paul for Anthony and Paula, said the event will have raised more than $1 million for the Rich Center after this weekend.
“Life happens, the good with the bad. There are many people who are worse off than us. Both families are very close and we’re lucky to have that support structure. You learn to just survive,” Phyllis said.
“I know they [Anthony and Paula] are around us. We feel them all the time. We’ve had many little incidents happen that we know are not just coincidences,” she said.
An example might be this year’s dinner and golf outing, which is usually on the third weekend in August. The Lake Club, however, was booked for that time and the only dates available were Sept. 5 for the dinner and Sept. 8 for the golf outing.
“I was speechless,” Jacqueline said.
Sept. 5 is Paula and Anthony’s wedding anniversary and Sept. 8 was the date of the plane crash.
The annual dinner and golf outing helps continue their legacy.
“The Rich Center has touched so many families, and we’re proud of that — and we know Anthony and Paula would be proud, too,” said Jacqueline, whose son, Christopher, now 23, is autistic.
The Rich Center, along with all of the people it has helped, is one of the positive things that came from the deaths and helped the families get past them, said Dr. Daniel Ricchiuti, Anthony’s brother.
“We appreciate that people remember Anthony and Paula and thank the community for its support,” he said.
Cheers Boston
Anthony and Paula are also remembered at Cheers Boston, a bar they frequented because the television show, “Cheers,” was Anthony’s favorite show.
After the couple died, Dr. Vincent Ricchiuti, Anthony’s brother, then a medical student in St. Louis, wrote a letter to The Boston Herald about the airplane crash and how much Anthony loved “Cheers,” and the newspaper published a story about it.
To this day, a picture of Anthony and Paula hangs on the wall of the famous bar.
“We had a private party this weekend and on the invitation is the phrase, “Everybody knows your name,” Phyllis Ricchiuti said.
“Where Everybody Knows Your Name” is the title of the “Cheers” theme song.
“If someone mentions Tony’s or Paula’s name, it touches my heart. It’s nice when they remember,” said Rose Rubino.
“Sometimes I wonder what kind of mommy and daddy they would have been. I bet they would have five or six kids,” she said.
“It’s always difficult to think about how they died, but we focus on how they lived. I see Tony’s face in his brothers and sister, and they see Paula in me and JoAnna,” said Jacqueline. “There are still happy things that happen.”