In tribute to the unofficial First Family of the community, the city came to a full stop for the sixty-five minutes of Mr. Vera¹s funeral Mass. City Hall did not officially close down. But it heavily emptied out. With Ralph Vera¹s younger brother, white-gloved Albert Jr., standing sentinel as one of the pallbearers beside the casket at the head of the main aisle, the parents, Ursula and Albert, were positioned nearby, the first persons whom arriving mourners would see.
     In a rare social convergence, Culver City¹s most important citizens mingled, wordlessly, with the community¹s least known members. All came as friends, admirers or customers of Mayor Albert Vera and his forty-seven-year-old son. They came to publicly affirm their loyalty to a much-honored family that has been shadowed in recent years by an uncommon chain of tragedy and setbacks. Eight days after his unexpected death on Tuesday, Nov.1, Mr. Vera was eulogized by his wife, Suzanne, whom he married seven months earlier, and by his mother, by proxy.

     The widowed Mrs. Vera tenderly recalled how she and Ralphie, as she tended to call him, first met as Culver City schoolchildren. "It wouldn¹t be until we became teenagers that a special friendship would developed," she said. As adults, they fell out of touch for thirty years ‹ until a year ago October,

four months before last February¹s wedding. Along the way, Mr. Vera had lived in Texas, New York and Florida. "We started dating when Ralphie came back to California," she said, "and we fell in love," she said. When they married, "he told me I was his dream girl."

     Their wedding ceremony was "simple, informal, beautiful and heartfelt." The new Mr. and Mrs. Vera had no idea that just months would be apportioned to them. "Only God knew that time was of the essence," Mrs. Vera said. "Our seven months of marriage were a crash course of what a good marriage should be, for better or for worse. Ralphie was a very supportive, loving, protective, wonderful husband. He said and did many endearing things. We felt lucky to have each other. As my husband, I learned he had an appreciation for many different things ‹ good comedians, actors, classic

movies, beautiful girls, good music and great guitars. He could talk for hours about them. His favorite music group was the Rolling Stones. His favorite ballet was the Nutcracker Suite. He had a great appreciation for nice cars, classic and modern. Blue was his favorite color, and so a blue classic Cadillac was his first car and his last car was a blue Dodge Durango SUV.

     Mr. Vera¹s "strong work ethic," she explained, stemmed from his days in the family business, the Sorrento Italian Market. "Here at Sorrento, he would develop a taste for the finer things, like fine cheese and fine chocolate." Destined to be a chef in the second half of his life, Mrs. Vera recounted how her husband-to-be enrolled in the Culinary Institute of Cooking in New York in 1985 and graduated at the top of his class. In helping to launch a chain of Wolfgang Puck restaurants, he routinely worked sixteen to eighteen hours a day.
     Mrs.Vera said that her husband never was one to stand along the sidelines, that he was a fulltime participant in his life. "Ralphie approached his life aggressively and enthusiastically," she said. "He also was wild and restless."

     Mr. Vera was portrayed by his widow as a virtual Renaissance man. "Ralphie knew a lot about a lot of different things," Mrs. Vera said, "like valuable collectibles, history, law, flowers and yes, even beehives." Fond of poetry, Mr. Vera further challenged those who would categorize him by stretching his talents in a far different direction. He performed as a clown at children¹s parties, and held their attention by doubling as a ventriloquist.

     From barely a half year of wedded life, Mrs. Vera intimated that she had acquired a bulging storehouse of comforting memories. She closed her farewell by saying that it was not a farewell. "We do not say goodbye to Ralphie," said Mrs. Vera, "because I am sure he is here. We love you and miss you as I am sure you love and miss us. Sweetheart, thank you for all of those you loved, touched, rescued, helped, uplifted and made smile."