Carlo Visca

Carlo Visca (affectionately known as Carletto to many) was born in Colli, Monte San Giovanni Campano, a small village in the region of Lazio. He was the third of 6 siblings, 4 of whom are still alive today and living in Italy and France. He experienced 89 years of life - with its mixture of hard work, a new land, responsibility, relationships, love, adversity, quiet accomplishment, fear, joy, sadness, disappointments and pain. Most of us don’t know much about his early life prior to meeting and marrying his wife Teresa in 1959, other than he received a grade 5 education and earned small amounts of money as an unskilled labourer. He apprenticed briefly as a cobbler in Italy, but never pursued the occupation in Canada.

After a short, abandoned attempt at living in Lyon, France, Carlo and Teresa moved to Canada in November of 1963, with their 2 year old son Antonio (Tony). Carlo recounted stories of the move: one was of a conversation he had with his godfather in Colli, where he told him he was moving to America and that he was afraid of the new life ahead of him because he didn’t speak any english. His godfather advised him that in response to anything he was asked by anyone, he should confidently say “yes,” and that all would work out well - and that is what Carlo did, as he didn’t otherwise really understand what people were saying and didn’t know very many other English words; another story was that Carlo was sea sick every day of the ocean voyage from Naples to Halifax. Upon arrival in Halifax, Carlo mistakenly thought they had reached their final destination, only to discover that they still had a 2 day train ride to Toronto to endure. He experienced another 2 days of voyage sickness traveling to Toronto. In the early period of time in Toronto, Carlo did not like the new country, and explained that if it wasn’t for the fact that it would require another miserable 2 day train trip and a 7 day voyage by ship to get back to Italy, he would have gone back home immediately. But the decision to stay would prove to be fruitful, and defined his life for the next 60 years. Within a year, their second child, Enrico (Rick) was born, and their family was complete. With the help of family members, Carlo immediately found full time work within a week of their arrival. He worked as a punch press operator in a non-unionized factory, Canadian Electrical Box, later to be bought out by Sylvania and then Commander Electrical Equipment (or as Carlo referred to them; CEB, Sylvania and Comande). He later had opportunities to leave for a higher paying job at unionized work environments like General Motors, but was always reluctant to give up the security of the job he had and knew at CEB. A dedicated employee, he maintained his position with them as a punch press operator for 31 years, until he retired. For those who knew Carlo, you know he was very risk averse, and this was one of those examples. Like many young people today, except that he didn’t have the benefit of Uber or Lyft, Carlo never learned to drive a car. For the bulk of his working years, he walked to and from his workplace (in his work boots). In retrospect, that regular walking undoubtedly kept him in that fit and healthy state that most of us remember him by. Through the generosity of family members in Toronto, Carlo and Teresa lived with siblings until 1968, when they purchased their first, and only, home at 76 Courton Drive in Scarborough. Carlo lived there for the next 55 years, right up until his death. They purchased their 1200 square foot

bungalow in 1968 for $22,000. On a 50’ x 100’ lot, there was enough room for a good sized vegetable garden in the backyard. The garden proved to be Carlo’s passion. He took great care and pride in it, and as a measure of protection over his crops he often stayed up in the middle of the night looking out his bedroom window, to keep pesky squirrels and raccoons from helping themselves to his vegetables, fruit and grapes. To supplement their family income, Carlo and Teresa rented out the basement of the bungalow for many years. Even with the basement area rented out, however, Carlo and Teresa always reserved access to the laundry room and the very important “cantina.” The cantina housed a large chest freezer, a huge amount of jarred tomatoes, cured sausages, gassosa, homemade wine, and enough dry pasta and pantry items to withstand a pandemic.

Carlo’s charm was that, in an age of excess, bling, and desired self improvement, he was a very understated man with a very simple approach to life: he was very happy with what he had, was not interested in amassing more and greater things, and never envied others who had or chased more; putting aside the odd overtime hours he worked from time to time, he worked regular shifts and came home to relax with his family in the evenings and on the weekends; he ate 3 balanced meals a day; he did not snack in between those meals; he did not use condiments on food; he did not smoke; he did not gamble; he did not drink in excess; he did not drive; he had a zero dollar monthly entertainment budget; he did not vacation, apart from the odd summer trip back to Colli to visit family; and during retirement, he and Teresa acted as caregivers to grandchildren for several years. And while this list would make most people wonder how he could be truly happy in a big city in a very developed country in the 21st century, most of us are unlikely to have known anyone in our lives as happy and content as Carlo was with his life, up until the time his wife Teresa got sick and later died.

Carlo died peacefully on February 17, 2023 with one personal regret- that he outlived his life partner of 61 years, Teresa, and had to stumble along without her in his life for the next 2 1/2years. We trust that he has now tracked her down and that they are spending the rest of eternity together. Carlo will be especially missed by his sons Antonio and Rick, his daughters in law Serafina and Jacqueline, his grandchildren Marc (Hayley), Sebastian, Madeleine and Thomas. Ciao papà, ciao nonno, ciao Carletto.

Visitation for Carlo will be at the Paul O’Connor Funeral Home, 1939 Lawrence Avenue East, Scarborough on Monday, February 20, 2023 at 5-9 PM. A Chapel service will be held on Tuesday February 21, 2023 at 9:00 am in the Paul O'Connor Funeral Home Chapel with an Entombment to follow at Highlands Memory Gardens Cemetery.

The Chapel Service will be available via livestream by visiting https://funeraweb.tv/diffusions/69405

The Entombment will be available via livestream by visiting https://funeraweb.tv/diffusions/69406