Guido is the beloved husband of Elsa, the loving father of Diana (Grant Moffat) and Gianni (Marie-France), and the cherished Nonno of Dylan, Aidan, Owen, Ella and Tess. Guido will be deeply loved, dearly missed and forever remembered by his family and friends.
The Toffoletto family greatly appreciates your gestures of sympathy and words of condolences at this very difficult time. Due to the current Covid pandemic restrictions, the visitation and the funeral service will remain private for immediate family members only.
The Funeral Service will be livestreamed on Monday, February 22nd at 1:30pm for family and friends that would like to view the service. The Livestream link has been posted below. For further details and floral delivery, please contact the funeral home at 416-654-7744.
If desired, donations in Memory of Guido Aldo Toffoletto may be made to the Charity of Your Choice.
Daddy’s/Nonno’s Eulogy
Guido – my Nonno – passed away on Valentine’s Day. At first, we thought his passing on that day unfortunate. But, upon reflection, it then seemed so appropriate – Nonno loved and was much loved. Carrying with him the love of and for his family, friends, and really, life, Nonno was always surrounded by love.
Nonno was born in Volpago del Montello, a small town in northern Italy. He was the youngest of 4 children born on the family farm. His love of the land and nature was rooted in his childhood – every year planting and tending to his precious vegetable and flower gardens, and delighting in having his grandchildren help plant and then pick fresh tomatoes and cucumbers.
Nonno excelled in school – he loved to learn and valued knowledge. Nonno became an accountant at the young age of 19, the first in his family to earn a degree. He was selected by the Navy for its prestigious Officers Training Program and seriously considered a military career. Nonno was quietly proud of these achievements, but, as any friend of his would tell you, he was even prouder of his children and grandchildren’s achievements. He celebrated every award given, every scholarship won, and every degree earned. But he was most proud of the people we had become.
With post-war Italy offering few opportunities, Nonno decided to join his sister in Canada. However, not before proposing to the great love of his life – my Nonna, Elsa. Nonno always said it was love at first sight. He started courting her right away, smartly charming her parents and dissuading other suitors by all means possible – this included suggesting competitors came from dubious lineage and bribing my Nonna’s younger sister to chase away any other potential suitors. Married for over 65 years, my Nonno and Nonna had my mom, Diana, and my uncle, Gianni, and their love endures to this day.
Those early years in Canada were full of hard work as they started to build a life together. Both working and saving, with Nonno leaving his bank post for a higher paying construction job to better provide for his wife and their future together, eventually saving enough to buy a home and start a family. It is not lost on us that his new line of work took a greater toll on his body. Those years were also full of romantic outings in the park, fierce games of bocce, innumerable get-togethers over food and wine with friends and dances at the local church or the Brandon Club. Fiercely proud of his Italian heritage, he was a founding member of Il Piave Club di Toronto and served on the board of the Toronto chapter of the Trevisani nel Mondo. These clubs provided support and organized social events, including many banquet hall dinners and dances. And Nonno loved to dance – he was always one of the first onto the dance floor and one of the last to leave.
To us, Nonno’s love of dancing is emblematic of his love, his enjoyment of life. There were few things Nonno enjoyed more than getting together with friends, telling jokes and swapping stories. He loved soccer and was an ardent AC Milan fan, although his favourite team was always whichever one his grandchildren were on – he rarely missed a game. He also enjoyed travelling, best of all if he could share these trips with family and friends. And although he toured a number of places in Europe, Canada and beyond, he always favoured the warmth of southern destinations. We are not really sure he knew how cold Canada was when he decided to emigrate. During summer heat waves when everyone sought the comfort of air conditioning, Nonno would sit outside on his patio, reading his beloved newspapers and keeping up with current events for hours on end.
Cold winters or not, there is no doubt that Nonno never regretted deciding to build a life in Canada because it gave him what he wanted most – a better life for himself, his wife, his children, and us. Good at his craft, Nonno was sought after and often worked 7 days a week. He was generous almost to a fault, whether helping with a first home purchase or constantly ensuring we, the grandchildren, had enough spending money – or, equally important, he always gave freely of his time and energy to help us all in any way he could. Quite simply, Nonno loved his family deeply and readily gave of himself. This deep love of family, of caring beyond oneself is what truly made Nonno exceptional and someone to not only love but respect and emulate.
And so it is perhaps no surprise that the last deep love that we wish to talk about is Nonno’s love for his grandchildren – and, ours for him. It is no exaggeration to say that Nonno lived to be with his grandchildren – to spoil us….There was a reason we always said ”Nonno never says no”. We called him the “candy man” – he would actually make a candy tree, hanging candy from a real tree!. He loved to help, to teach us, whether in taking our first steps or learning how to play cards. He loved to make us laugh – Nonno would tell his jokes and stories, often inappropriate ones, very much for effect. Still, you could always count on Nonno for honesty; he would never sugarcoat anything and because of this candor, you knew his comments were always genuine, and they meant that much more.
And especially towards his later years when he could not physically do as much with us, Nonno simply LOVED to be with us, to be around us, to experience us – we felt this, we felt his love for us – and we will forever be grateful for it. But, most of all, it was clear that Nonno wanted the best for each of us. As long as we were happy, he was happy. That was all that mattered. To have had someone in your life who cares about you that deeply is a true blessing.
I, Aidan, Owen, Ella and Tess were fortunate enough to have known our grandfather – not all grandkids do – and we are even more fortunate to have had such a loving and giving one. And because of who he was, Nonno will truly never be forgotten; and, more importantly, he will live on through us and hopefully one day our own families.
We love you Nonno and we thank you.
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