The Real Housewives of New Jersey cast reflected on Giacinto Gorga’s life in a tearful memorial organized by his family, which aired on the series’ April 7 episode titled Memorial Mayhem.
One year after Nonno’s death, Joe Gorga spoke out about his father’s passing at 76 in April of 2020. His wife Antonia Gorga died in March 2017 at the age of 66 following a battle with pneumonia.
Joe spoke to Bravo’s cameras about the family-filled event. “Let me tell you something, that was amazing. That was everything he ever wanted.”
He remembered his father’s most beloved attributes in a tearful series of statements.
“My father was a fun guy. He was a party guy. He loved you, he held you, he was a workaholic, but he partied,” Joe reflected.
“He passed away during the pandemic. So many people loved him. He made everyone laugh. He was really, truly so loved,” said Joe’s wife Melissa, who shared that because of the restrictions placed on gatherings, no one was able to pay their respects to her father-in-law the way they would have liked.
Joe revealed his father’s wish
Joe said in an interview posted on Bravo’s website that his father told him that when he died, he wanted a big party and not a sad funeral.
Joe’s sister Teresa reveled that their dad did not want them to cry when he passed. He wished for everyone to have “a great time.”
Melissa added that the family wanted to celebrate his life at her clan’s shore house. She shared it was his favorite place, and he had a chair that he loved and would sit in and drink Johnnie Walker Blue all day.
Melissa said she knew the shore house would be the perfect place to celebrate how much Nonno meant to the family. Melissa claimed that he would have wanted that more than anyone standing around crying.
Nonno’s beloved family came together to remember him
Joe said he loved his children and grandchildren, and his late wife with all his heart.
“Here’s a guy, his wife [Antonia] passed away and every day he went to see her at the cemetery. That is amazing, I don’t know if I could live up to that. He was my idol and will always be my idol”
On the other hand, Teresa shared her father was a “good time” and loved to go to the beach to “drink and flirt with the girls.”
During the memorial, where everyone in attendance wore white, two swans swam up to Melissa and Joe’s boat dock. Teresa believed it was her mother and father making an appearance at the gathering.
The Real Housewives of New Jersey airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on Bravo.