Fr. Antony (Ronald) Frank Gori

Fr. Antony (Ronald) Frank Gori was born May 18, 1946 in Brooklyn, NY. He was the only child of Andrew Gori and Nancy Visci. From an early age, Ronald steadfastly lived a faith-filled life, with a contagious smile.

            He often fondly reminisced to his wife, children and grandchildren, about the joy of serving as an altar-boy for daily Mass and funerals, even learning the Latin Mass responses. The influence of these early experiences continued to shape him until the very end of his earthly life. Ronald had a close relationship with his father, who went on pilgrimage with him shortly before his father’s death. Both his father and mother loved him singularly.

            He graduated from St. Francis College in Brooklyn, NY, where he met his wife, Beverly [Jensen]. They married on June 22, 1968. Shortly after, Ronald was drafted to serve as an Operating Room Technician in Vietnam with the U.S. Army from 1969-1972. During his military service, Beverly and he had the first of their four children.

            Upon completion of his tour, with children and wife in tow, Ronald began missionary work in the Southwest for the Catholic church among the Navajo. Eventually, they settled in Collinsville, CT, where he worked as a Director of Religious Education and then was employed by the State of Connecticut. Once his children were grown, Ronald studied and graduated from St. Vladimir’s Theological Seminary in Yonkers, NY. He fulfilled his life-long vocation and was ordained to the priesthood as Fr. Antony, in the Orthodox Church of America. Fr. Antony and Beverly moved to Carver, MA, where he served as pastor of St. Mark of Ephesus Mission in Kingston.

      During his earlier, healthier years, Ronald was a voracious reader with an insatiable appetite for knowledge. He also enjoyed occasionally acting in local theatre and watching movies. He had an encyclopedic memory for film, often reciting the names of actors and the oration of movie lines. He enjoyed singing during lively Wednesday family nights and at church with his wife; he was a bellowing baritone. He also enjoyed dancing. He had a pensive sadness with a flint of joy in his eye. His wry sense of humor and “bad dad” jokes will be sorely missed. Most importantly, he was a deeply loving husband, father, and grandfather.

             The final ten years of his life were embodied with worsening symptoms from Parkinson’s Disease. He peacefully accepted this as an important phase of his life. The deep faith he had since childhood filled him with purpose and meaning. During this trying time, his primary and stalwart support was his wife, and the Grace they both received through their relationship with the Lord. The words from the Book of Wisdom, “Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them worthy of himself. As gold in the furnace, he proved them, and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself” typified Fr. Antony’s understanding of the relationship between faith, suffering, and perseverance.

            Fr. Antony is survived by his wife, Beverly; daughters Miriam, and her two children, Riain and Lily, of Carver, MA; Jennifer, and her wife, Sarah, of Jamaica Plain, MA; and Clare Desrosiers, her husband Joseph, and their eleven children, Amile, Jean-Luc, Dylan, Isaac, Shawn, Mireille, Arielle, Kara, Marianna, Erik, & Annalise of Linneus, ME; and his son, Andrew, and his wife, Ambre, of Los Angeles, CA.

If you would like to make a donation in memory of Fr. Antony, please do so to the MIssionaries of Charity Women's Homeless Shelter, 401 Quincy St, Dorchester, MA 02125. Checks can be made payable there to 'Missionaries of Charity'.