On behalf of wife Deanna, sons Nick, John and the immediate family, we would like to express our deepest regrets and say goodbye to a loving husband, father, and nonno.
My dad touched many lives throughout his life, almost 400 paid respects at his funeral.
Dad had a certain quality about him. It didn’t matter where he went , or what room he would enter, whether he knew the people there or not, he would quickly become the center of attention. His glowing smile, his wit, and the energy he carried, drew people in. He loved to dance. I’m sure many of you here can attest to that. You would always see mom and dad dancing the night away at every function that took place at the Italian cultural center.
He loved music, he sang in the church quire for a time, he could always be heard singing around the house , whistling, and even was teaching himself to play piano! Daily Singing, dancing, whistling and playing the piano….wouldn’t it be nice if everyone could be that happy!
He volunteered at the circolo abruzzese Italian club for years, and whenever there was a function, he made sure there was no shortage of spirits , and of course wine always flowed................. For as many years as I can remember, the annual abruzzese picnic at Confederation park, you would always find Guido at the food tent barbequing hundreds of Italian sausages at a time, for everyone there to enjoy.
Dad had a passion for gardening, he did it for a living , and actually never retired from it. It seemed he was most content when he was planting trees, flowers , and shrubs. His house always had something budding or blooming, he was even featured once in the” Burnaby Now “newspaper for his amazing roses. His garden at the back of the house was always in abundance of vegetables and fruit, the tomatoes he grew were always enormous, the envy of all his neighbours. He was so proud.
He had a great tenacity to fix things. I don’t know how many times he fixed a broken worn out toaster, when my mom finally got mad and bought a new one! I can remember many times walking into his garage when he had something like an old lawnmower or weed eater in thousands of pieces and would not give up even after many hours until it was working again. Even sick and during his chemotherapy, he got an old leaf blower working again. That’s how he approached his illness, he never gave up , he was eating and drinking right up until his last day, he was sure he was going to get better…he even told us he was going to walk again…this time, unfortunately, it just could not be fixed.
Dad loved hanging out with his buddies at the park as well. He would spend hours there playing bocce. It didn’t matter if the weather was great or not ,he’d be there. If he wasn’t playing bocce , he would be playing cards at the Confed house, I’m sure he will be missed dearly there. He was so good at cards , he even won a poker tournament in Nevada with 11 tables. That is an impressive feat!
As for Dad’s home life, family always came first. He was always there if my brother or myself ever needed anything. He was a selfless person, truly happy to be able to make us happy. He would never hesitate to offer a helping hand no matter the size of the endeavour. And he didn’t just like helping us, but as a lot of his friends can tell you, he would not hesitate for a second to help them at anything as well. He cherished his friendships. If you were one of the lucky one’s that got to visit him at his home, you were showered with his generosity, he would give you whatever he had , his home was truly your home! Even his neighbours all around his house can tell you stories of times he just showed up to cut a falling tree, prune an overgrown bush, or repair a leaning fence, all because he knew it probably would not get done , and complaining about it was not an option.
He instilled in us the importance of family values, the importance of sitting around the dinner table and discussing family issues, the importance of our roles as fathers and husbands to our own families. We have always pushed those values with our kids. He adored our dear mother ( and wife of 52 years) so much, he always treated her with the utmost admiration respect and understanding. A quality that we will admire for the rest of our lives.
During The last couple of months of his life, my brother myself our mother, his much loved daughters- in- law and grandkids never left his side. His niece Patrizia, whom he loved like a daughter, travelled all the way from Prince Rupert 3 times to be with him. We all put our lives on hold, for what sadly turned out to be a short time, We continued to have dinners in his presence right until the last few days of his life. You knew he was blessed but we were blessed even more. Like my Mother, my brother and I ,always felt safe and secure when he was around. Even during his illness, the safety and security of his presence was felt, he never showed us any weakness. The world truly lost a one of a kind man, and heaven, just gained an inspiration.
His seat at the head of table will remain empty, as will the hole left in our hearts.
