SIMONE, Ricky Stanly March 18, 1961 - April 19, 2021

It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of our dearest Rickey who departed peacefully at home on April 19, 2021 at the exceptional age of 60.

Rickey was born with Down Syndrome to Mary and Vince the guardians and protectors whom God chose to raise such a remarkable person. He was a loving brother to Steve, Lushea and Nancy and an incredible Uncle to Dylan.

Rickey was everything we all strive to be…..joyful, loving forgiving, kind, compassionate, and authentic. He had a fearless heart and a tremendous appetite for Life.

A man of many interests, he loved fishing and duck hunting at the Sandbanks, dancing, clogging, conducting, hockey cards and marbles. He was an avid bowler, Special Olympian Floor Hockey, Track & Field and Swimming superstar with an envious collection of ribbons, medals and trophies.

He had many talents including making handmade birthday cards, singing and playing guitar around the campfire, and the remarkable ability to remember everyone’s birthday. He had Great taste in music, ranging from the Beatles and Abba to Bocelli and Pavarotti. He was a passionate Toronto Maple Leaf and Toronto Blue Jays fan with an impressive collection of signed jerseys and sticks.

An incredibly social person he knew everyone and met some great ones including Darryl Sittler and Wayne Gretzky. He was truly loved by all, and was everyone’s best friend. At the Sandbanks his daily routine included visiting his buddies, checking in that the older folks were ok, even reminding them to take their medicine, watering gardens, walking dogs and entertaining kids.

Rickey survived all odds many times throughout his life and just celebrated his 60th Birthday with a lush head of hair without a single wrinkle. He was a man of God, who prayed and cared for others.

Rickey was a joy and a blessing to his family and they shared a tremendous love towards each other. There is not greater love story than that of the love of his parents towards Rickey. Mary and Vince struggled and succeeded to ensure that Rickey received love, kindness and acceptance from the world. When Vince passed away suddenly in 2018, Rickey was so profoundly impacted by the break in the family chain that his health rapidly declined and he became bedridden for the past two years. Mary contently continued to serve and protect her wounded lamb around the clock. Mary promised God when Rickey was a toddler that if he survived, she would never leave his side and she kept her promise….and HE DELIVERED.

The family is eternally grateful to those who attended and cared for him for the past two years, his palliative support team and especially each one of his personal support workers who faithfully and gracefully provided care, love and friendship.

Rest in Peace Dearest Sweet Rickey.




Eulogy for RICKEY SIMONE - April 24, 2021, given by his sister Nancy

Have you heard of earth angels? Earth angels are spiritual beings born into physical form sent down here from heaven with a mission to make the world a lighter, happier more peaceful place. They are highly sensitive people who seem to be happy all the time, for no other reason than they enjoy everything that surrounds them…..they are shining bright lights that make others feel loved while expecting nothing in return.

Obviously, my brother Ricky was an earth angel.

Rickey was born with Down Syndrome at a time when it wasn’t well known or understood. Of course, God carefully and wisely chose the perfect parents to raise him. My precious mother Mary and my dear Father Vince were true guardians who protected and nurtured Rickey every single day of his life.

Rickey was a devoted brother to Steve, Lushea and I and both an Uncle and a brother to Dylan. We were truly fortunate to have such a remarkable sibling.

That’s because Rickey was everything we all strived to be…..joyful, loving forgiving, kind, and compassionate.

Ricky had a fearless heart and a tremendous appetite for Life ……….and the Mandarin Buffet.

Rickey was born under the sign of Pisces, a water sign and boy did he love the water! He didn’t just take a dip in the water …. he swam for hours until his lips were blue and he looked like a life size prune. In fact, he was so good at swimming that if anyone lost something to the bottom of the pool or the Lake they called in Ricky for the job. No matter how deep, Rickey broke the surface with the item in hand.

Rickey was unmistakable. He had beautiful blue almond shaped eyes, a lush head of hair, coke bottle glasses, an exquisite pear shaped body, delicate hands and tiny, tiny feet. He always wore his watch and carried his transistor radio. Oh, and he was exceptionally flexible…..NO ONE can forget his famous splits on the ground or in the water.

Ricky also had a distinct vocabulary. Some of his favourite phrases included ; ”oh come on”, “no me know”, “oh yeah right”, “oh bologna” ,“Dylan, don’t touch my stuff”, “Firewood!” and my favourite “I love you too much you know”.

He was so authentic that every picture perfectly captured him because he never posed or prepared for the shot and everything he said was actually, really funny.

Ricky had many talents including his ability to remember everyone’s birthday. And he made sure to call you on your birthday and if you were really lucky, you got one of his homemade birthday cards, with a copied Hallmark Greeting and a drawing of the cutest little stick people with giant smiles on their face.

Ricky was a man of many interests and passions. He loved fishing and would spend all day, rod in hand, either on the boat or on the dock at the Sandbanks. He loved his hockey cards, his massive stockpile of marbles and playing Go Fish and UNO.

Rickey had Great taste in music, ranging from the Beatles and Abba to Bocelli and Pavarotti…… and Lushea Simone. His favourite songs included Hey Jude, We will Rock you, Eye of the Tiger and O Na Na, whats my name.

Ricky was a devoted fan of all Toronto Sports teams especially the Toronto Blue Jays and of course the Toronto Maple Leafs. Across the country they call it Hockey night in Canada….we called it Hockey night on Ashwick Drive. No one loved and hated the Leafs as much as Ricky. He loved them ………except on Wednesday and Saturday nights. And nothing was more entertaining than listening to the banter between my father and Ricky watching a Leafs game….. especially if they missed the net.

Ricky was a tremendously busy and active person. He went to track and field, played floor hockey for the Cyclones on Tuesdays, bowling with his team the Arks on Saturdays and swam with the Scarboro Marlins on Sundays and Mondays. My mother was the dedicated and TOUGH swim coach for the Marlins all of Rickys life except for when she had knee surgery and Dylan and I had to coach the team. After getting out of the pool, I always had to wait soooo long for Ricky to get out of the change room so I could take him home. Dylan would later tell me why…….towel fights between Ricky and John Armstrong and Kevin Bidwell. Sunday mornings were the best!

Ricky shared my father’s love of bowling and achieved trophy after trophy. My mother served as the score keeper for the Arks. Every Saturday My father would take them to Parkway Bowl. After my father passed away Dylan and I would take them and hang out with them for the afternoon at the Alley filled with Ricky and his animated friends …actually Saturday afternoons were also the best!

Rickey was a clear WINNER in everything. He didn’t just compete at the special Olympics in one sport….he was an Olympic floor hockey STAR , an Olympic track and field DYNAMO and an Olympic Swimming SENSATION. He won hundreds of ribbons, medals and trophies.

In the summer he took a break from all his athletic endeavors to go to the Sandbanks with my parents. At the Sandbanks his daily routine included his morning long walk through the park. He visited all his friends, picked up and dropped off peoples recycling, checked in that the older folks were ok, even reminding them to take their medicine. He watered people’s gardens, walked their dogs and entertained them and their kids.

For Rickey, the most important day of every Year was his Birthday. He reminded us every day, “my birthday’s coming up you know…..March 18”. And every March 18, my family and my cousin Vince would go to his favourite restaurant, the Mandarin, and on March 19 - Rickey would remind us…………”my birthday is coming up you know …. March 18”.

Every year Ricky also looked forward to the Domenichini Christmas and we kids looked forward to the annual hockey game in the basement back room where Rickey played goalie. And Rickey so loved Auntie and Uncle’s delicious second Christmas dinner at midnight.

Rickey was a man of God, who prayed and cared for others. Every Sunday except for when he was at the Sandbanks he came here to St Maria Goretti Church with my mother.

Rickey was so loved that he was often gifted with autographed jerseys and hockey sticks from the likes of ….Darryl Sittler, Wayne Gretzky, Borje Salming, and Kevin Bieksa. He has a T-shirt from every country, every province, every city, and every town.

One thing we all know about Rickey is that he loved to talk, talk, talk, especially when there was dead silence. Like In church after the hymn was over….. or in the trailer when you were just about to fall into a deep sleep……. or while he was in the stall of a public washroom. When Scott Walcott would take him hunting, to keep him quiet he had to feed him a steady supply of cookies so he wouldn’t scare the ducks away.

If you knew Ricky you knew NOT to mess with the socks on his feet. Pulling his socks off was a surefire way to get him really ticked off. If Ricky wasn’t behaving, my mom would just have to threaten to send him to bed without his socks on.
Rickey was a faithful brother and best friend to us all, and he was truly loved in return. Rickey was a joy and a blessing to us all.

But there is no greater love story than the love between Rickey and my parents. My dad was a fierce protector of his cub and my mom nurtured him like he was one of her baby birds.

They struggled and succeeded to ensure that Rickey received love, kindness and acceptance from the world. After my father passed away suddenly in 2018, Rickey was profoundly impacted by the break in the family chain. Another hole in his great big heart and his health rapidly declined and he was bedridden for the past two years. My mother was content to nurture him at home and refused to put him in a long-term care home as was recommended. She contently and competently continued to serve and protect her wounded lamb around the clock.

My mother had promised God when Rickey was a toddler that if he survived, because according to medical “experts” he was not supposed to, that she would never leave his side and she kept her promise. She slept on the couch beside his bed so she could hear him breathe, and she hasn’t slept in her own bed yet. Rickey survived all odds and just celebrated his 60th Birthday!

Our dear friend and brother Rickey has ascended into heaven and we can all rest easy knowing Ricky continues to be lavished with love. He has Reunited into the arms of my Father and Our Father. And you can bet that Rickey’s first meal in heaven was a huge frittata.

Rest in Peace my Dear Sweet Brother XOXO