Theresa Benvenuto: Fathers, Legacy, and Living Your Purpose

Theresa Benvenuto: Fathers, Legacy, and Living Your Purpose

This special Father's Day edition of the Stay On Course Podcast brings together two women bonded through loss, faith, and a shared belief in purpose-driven living. Theresa and Julie each lost their fathers ten years ago. Together they explore what it means to grieve authentically, honor a legacy, and carry forward the lessons their fathers instilled in them.

️ About Theresa Benvenuto

Theresa Benvenuto is the Doctor of Connections, with a remarkable gift for building meaningful relationships and helping others discover where their strengths, purpose, and people truly align. She brings her expertise in connection alongside her story of loss and legacy to this conversation.

Fun Fact: Theresa's favorite dish is eggplant parmesan made the traditional way, with flour so the eggplant melts on the tongue. Her late mother-in-law made the best version she has ever tasted.

What You Will Hear in This Episode

Grief Has No Rules There is no timeline for loss. Julie shares how grief broke through at a Trader Joe's checkout just two days after losing her father. Theresa reflects on how it still arrives unexpectedly a decade later. Authentic grieving means following your own path, not someone else's timeline.

The Gifts Our Fathers Left Behind Julie grieved her father by completing his life story and turning it into a book. Theresa is still sorting through her late father's baseball card collection, discovering handwritten letters he wrote to Brooklyn Dodgers legends. Both describe these inheritances as gifts that keep on giving.

Our Fathers as Cheerleaders Julie's father became her greatest supporter after retirement, calling daily and cheering her on. Theresa's father attended her doctoral graduation just five months before he passed. Both speak to the irreplaceable loss of the person who believed in you without condition.

Purpose, Legacy, and Letting Children Be Themselves A candid conversation about pursuing your true calling without waiting for approval. Julie reflects on wanting to sing, write, and build a business while those closest to her waited to believe it until they saw it done. People living in regret often blame others for things they never gave themselves permission to do.

Signs from the Other Side Cardinals in the backyard. Roma tomatoes in impossible places. Both Julie and Theresa share the comfort of believing their fathers are still sending signs and cheering them on from heaven.

Key Takeaways

• Grieve authentically on your own terms
• Look for the legacy your loved ones left behind
• Your purpose is yours alone to pursue
• Do the thing, even without approval
• Our fathers went first so we would believe anything is possible

Special Note: Theresa's daughter begins medical school in July and runs the New York City Marathon in November to raise funds for the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation.

If your father is still here, cherish every moment. If he is gone, trust he is still guiding you. Follow your purpose and do the thing he believed you could do.

https://stacklist.app/julieriga

#FathersDay #Legacy #PurposeDriven #StayOnCourse #GriefAndGrowth

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