Rianna leaves legacy of humor, family

Not every big brother was like Steve Rianna.

His sister, Sherry Notarangelo, said last week that Rianna was quite a bit older than her and often handled the driving for his younger siblings and mother while dad was working. His little brother and sister would want to go everywhere with Rianna and his girlfriend, and rather than leave them behind, he took them all over.

From the Quonset Air Show to Rockport and Salem, they accompanied Rianna across the region. Those are just some of memories Notarangelo will have to remember her brother, who passed away in May at 69.

“I think everyone knew even when he was a teenager that someday he was going to be a really great dad, because he was a really awesome big brother,” Notarangelo said during a phone interview last week. “I pretty much owed our childhood to my brother and to his wife. I don’t know too many girls at 15 or 16 years old who would have been OK with her boyfriend taking his brother and kid sister along all the time. They took us everywhere.”

As expected, Rianna did go on to become a great father to his two children – a daughter who went to be an accomplished ballet dancer and a son who has devoted his career to science.

Unfortunately, Rianna had lived with type 2 diabetes for the past decades and underwent several surgeries, including having both of his legs amputated mid-thigh. He also suffered from neuropathy, macular degeneration and other health problems.

His condition prevented him from attending his grandchildren’s hockey games and dance recitals. Despite his limitations, he remained the most creative person Notarangelo has ever met.

Notarangelo shared one example in particular where her daughter needed help with a school project, and Rianna was more than happy to help. Notarangelo has previously said her brother was a professional residential designer, so he was always coming up with ideas.

“One time he was helping my daughter do a project on Italy, and he had that board open up, it looked like there were marble columns on the sides,” Notarangelo said. “Those columns were actually foam boards and the way he constructed them, they looked so much like real marble that when our church needed some extra pedestals at Easter one year, they used those in the church. He was just so creative.”

The gears of his mind never stopped turning, either. Notarangelo said she would often get messages from her brother very late at night, sometimes near 4 a.m., about backyard renovations and improvements.

“He was a perfectionist, and even to the last day, he was an idea guy,” Notarangelo said. “When I mentioned to him that I had wanted to do a gingerbread display on my front lawn this coming Christmas, he drew plans up for these gingerbread houses. People don’t live in houses as nice as the gingerbread house designs he made. Even without being able to really see well, he was able, he still did that.”

There was a fundraiser set for March 28 to raise money for Rianna and his wife to purchase a wheelchair van, but unfortunately it had be cancelled because of the coronavirus pandemic. Notarangelo said then and now that there was no shortage of people looking to help with the event – everyone from friends he had not spoken to in decades, to former members of his band.

“He was really enjoying planning that benefit, being in touch with old friends, he was really looking forward to it,” Notarangelo said.

When asked about her brother’s legacy, Notarangelo said her brother’s humor is a trait that still lives on. On one of the saddest days of her life, as Rianna was laid to rest, his son shared a story about his father that had everyone laughing. Rianna was still bringing levity to his family.

“That we are all really trying to remember not how sick he was and how much he really did suffer, but that he made us all laugh,” Notarangelo said. “As I told you, he was a double amputee, and last Christmas he sent a note to everyone saying, ‘Please don’t buy me socks or shoes for Christmas.’ He really was a unique person, so I would say that probably the fact that he made us laugh.”

Beyond his ability to make everyone chuckle, Notarangelo said Rianna leaves behind his legacy as a family man – the one everyone knew he was destined to be. She always knew that would be the path for her great big brother.

“[His marriage] was going to be 48 years in September, and they are two people who truly lived out their marriage vows,” Notarangelo said.