Yesterday Taran and Roshan played
at the first annual Steve Ferrero memorial tournament held at Dean of Chess
club in Branchburg, NJ. Steve’s long time companion, Mary McCallion, graced the
occasion with her family. 45 players of different age and rating group came to
play in honor of Steve – a testament to how much he continues to be loved by
the chess community.
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| Taran, Dean, Mary, Roshan and Noreen at the 1st annual Steve Ferrero memorial tournament |
There was a touching eulogy by Steve’s friend and owner of
the academy, IM Dean Ippolito and by tournament director and office manager, Noreen
Davisson. It left Mary and many others emotional. Taran and Roshan were invited
to hand Mary checks totaling $2020, the amount they had raised as a fundraiser
in honor of Steve. All the proceeds go to St. Jude Children’s Research
Hospital. The link below gives the details of the fundraiser:
Steve had touched so many lives.
One of the things that drew us to him was that he seemed genuinely happy and he
laughed a lot. It feels good to think that he continues to do so from heaven. Steve’s
death hit hard. Those days were a blur of emotions, so much sadness and so much
grief. Everything else seemed trivial as compared to the hard-hitting reality
that he was no more. But life has to go on. What was important was how to keep
Steve’s memory alive and create something positive out of this tragic and
sudden event. This was the genesis of the “Steve Ferrero Rainbow Loom
fundraiser”. Death, the great teacher, had presented an opportunity for a wide
range of penetrating and life changing lessons. And although Taran and Roshan
are just 9 year olds who had been brought face to face with death, hopefully
the dollar amount that they were able to raise will make a difference, as
little as it might be. And hopefully, it has contributed to Taran and Roshan’s
emotional and existential growth and made their heart richer. So, Steve
Ferrero, wherever you are, take a bow as you continue to make the world a
better place!
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