His last best act of love

Valley Stream mourns a fallen firefighter
      His heart summoned him there. When city firefighter Raymond R. York Jr. heard what was happening, he was commanded by something inside of him to get there, get to the front, and do his life-saving work. He did. And he died there.
      He didn't have to go. He was midtown, stationed at the Fire Zone in Rockefeller Center teaching children about fire safety. He'd been injured in the line of duty more than a year ago.
      "As soon as the second plane hit, Ray was on his way," his brother-in-law, firefighter Billy Abruzziano, said at York's Mass of Christian Burial at Holy Name of Mary Church in Valley Stream on Saturday. "He jumps in the satellite media van and heads downtown. He was all pumped up. He was going to go into the front and no where else." Traffic was slowing the truck he was in, "so he jumps out and flags down an EMS van."
      Black bands covered the fire shields of hundreds of firefighters from the city, Valley Stream and other Long Island communities at the funeral, there to salute their brother and to support his wife, Joan, children Kristina, Kristen, Robert and Michael, parents Raymond R. Sr. and Dolores, and several brothers and sisters.
      Fr. Tom Harold, the church's pastor, delivered the moving homily, speaking of Ray's life, his courage, his passions and his love.
      "Being a firefighter is like being a baseball player," Harold quoted York as having written in an article for children at the Fire Zone. "Everybody has a position to play. Everybody who goes to a fire has a certain position to play. But our team doesn't win by scoring the most points. We win when we save property or, even better, when we save someone's life. That's when we win."
      Harold offered the York family his condolences. The parish and "the people of Valley Stream have been extraordinary in caring for the several families who have lost loved ones. We want to help you in any way we can." He said that everyone was at the church that day to show the fallen firefighter their love "by comforting his family."
      "It has been a long week for us," Harold said. When he went to bed Friday night, he told the church full of mourners, he decided to read a magazine instead of watching more TV. He found an article by Monsignor John Egan of Chicago, a man very involved with community life, a champion for social justice, who died just this past spring.
      He quoted Egan from the article, saying "You fight injustice wherever you find it and for as long as you find it because you never never can stop loving right until the very very end. Your last breath may be your best act of love."
      "Ray York did not have to be at the World Trade Center," Harold said. He chose to be there. He heard of the injustice and there was something in his heart that summoned him, commanded him there. And it was there that Ray York did his last best act of love.
      "We are, like Ray, summoned not from the outside but from within to fight injustice."
      Harold said he's learned that Ray York was a man of passion for his family and his profession. "Ray had a vocation to be a firefighter.
      "A vocation defines who we are, not just what we do. A vocation is from the heart and the soul. That's why the summons to the World Trade Center came from his heart and soul. He was a man who discovered his vocation and lived it passionately."
      Try in your own life to figure out what your passion is, Harold said. "Name that which you would die for. More importantly, who you would die for."
      Tuesday was an experience of evil, the pastor said. But we shall overcome the evil because "your passion is stronger than any terrorist. Your love is stronger than any image on TV. We believe that. Ray already knows it."
      "Your work inspires not only the city but the entire world," Harold said of the firefighters who have given so much to the rescue efforts. He praised all the firefighters who lost their lives in the attack's aftermath, saying, "with their last breaths they performed their last best acts of love."
      York's brother-in-law and friend, Billy Abruzziano, spoke at the end of the mass. "Ray was a man who loved. He loved his family, his job and his country."
      Everyone in the church laughed when he recalled that once at a family barbecue people were discussing fashions and designers. Someone had mentioned Calvin Klein, Donna Karin and DKNY. "Ray's favorite designer was FDNY."
      Abruzziano said that York was "an idea man and was passionate about everything he did. He was a good son to his mom and dad. He was a good son of the American Legion. He was a flag-bearer at the Legion. His life came from his heart. He was always a hero to my sister, now he's a hero to the fire department. And now he's an American hero."
      York's firehouse commander, Capt. Spiegel of Engine Co. 285 Ozone Park, performed the department tradition of presenting Joan with her husband's helmet.
      "Ray was part of the unusual spirit of his firehouse," the captain said. "I never heard Ray say a mean nasty thing. He was kind. I never saw him angry. I am proud to say I was Ray's friend."
      In tribute, everyone in the church sang God Bless America as the hero was borne away to his eternal rest.