Mauro Brent Rizzo

As the first son of Italian immigrants, Mauro’s life was defined by facing and overcoming challenges. An incredibly hard worker, his love of construction began early as he entered the workforce a 6 years-old picking up nails on jobsites and banging them straight so they could be reused. He spent his summers and weekends building a network of forts in the woods of North Burnaby. Throughout his youth he loved and excelled at all things outdoors including swimming, skiing and mountain biking.

At the age of 17, he was diagnosed with an enormous tumour that had grown in and around his spinal column. He survived this terrifying ordeal with the help of an incredible surgeon, Dr. Felix Durity, and the support of his family and close friends. He went on to a career at Safeway but was always drawn back to his love of building and joined his brother Marco to grow the family business. Along the way, he met the love of his life Andrea and created two beautiful children, Ryan and Christina. He loved being in the outdoors, creating things with his hands and spending time surrounded by those he loved.

His cancer returned as gliosarcoma and he succumbed to this aggressive brain cancer on May 21, 2022.

Mauro is survived by his loving wife Andrea, and their two children Ryan and Christina. He is also survived by his mother Danila, siblings Roger (Tami), Marco (Laura), Vanessa and Jenna, Stefania (Dan). He is also survived by his mother-in-law Dian Freeman, sister-in-law Liz Freeman (Brad Atchison), Jordan, Liam and Jessica, extended family in Canada and Italy, and many dear friends.

His beautiful spirit and laughter will be missed.

Mauro was predeceased by his father Vasco (2008) and his father-in-law Clint Freeman (2020).

A special thank you to the medical staff at Surrey Cancer and Royal Columbian, Dr Jeffrey Bell and Dr Dan Le.

Memorial Donations in Mauro's honour may be made to:

BC Cancer Society, Surrey Cancer, Royal Columbian Hospital