COL LOUIS A. CECCHINI To TAPS

It is with great sadness and a profound sense of loss that we must announce that Col. LOUIS A. CECCHINI (Ret.) "Chick" , President Emeritus of RAFINO, is  no longer with us.  He passed away on Wednesday, November 13, 2013.

He was the beloved husband of the late Grethe Sjelja Cecchini; father of Al and Charles Cecchini; grandfather of Paul, Daniel, David Cecchini, Johanna McCoskey and the late Vincent Cecchini. Louis was a WWII veteran and served 28 honorable years in the United States Army. Following his retirement from the Army, he spent 17 years working for the Department of Defense, finally retiring on 1983..

RAFINO thrives today because of our late President Emeritus, Chick Cecchini. Chick had the vision of a vibrant, connected community of retired Regimental Finance Officers. He continues to give his strength and energy to guide us, encourage us and keep us going. Because of Chick, RAFINO does not stand still but seizes the changing opportunities around us. The RAFINO web site is yet another milestone in the never-ending quest to encourage communication among our members. We dedicate our information highway to the late President Emeritus, Chick Cecchini.

See the Bulletin Board entry where Chick recalls how RAFINO came about. 

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated at St. Mary of the Mills Catholic Church, 114 St. Mary's Street, Laurel, MD 20707 on Tuesday, November 26. Chick was buried at Arlington National Cemetery,  Section 54 Site 435-1. 

Memorial contributions may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project, PO Box 758517, Topeka, Kansas 66675.

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Dave Mikkelson: 

"Chick founded RAFINO to create the 'network' of connection to keep us together and to communicate with each other to make that happen - not on President Emeritus, but was the newsletter champion/facilitator for years during the late '80's and through the '90's until J. Cluad stepped in to keep all that going so very well for so long. He was the 'glue' that held us together between reunions."