Iolanda Benigno

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Celina, and I am the eldest of my Nonna’s two grandchildren. On behalf of my family, I would like to thank everyone for coming today, and joining us online to share our sorrow, but also to share our joy as we celebrate my Nonna, Iolanda Benigno and her beautiful life. In her lifetime, she was known in a variety of roles- mother, wife, zia, cousin, nonna, mother in law, and amazing friend.It's the little things about her that seem to stand out the most- her rolled up Kleenex, her contagious laugh, how she always danced if there was music, and how she could aim her wooden spoon or her slipper at any moving target perfectly. My nonna was one of the closest and most important people in my life. She was such an amazing person, and cared so selflessly for her family and her friends. She never really fully spoke English, and I never really fully spoke Italian, but that didn’t stop us from having a good relationship. She was kind, loving, incredibly stubborn, and had the best sense of humour. She was special to so many people, but she played such an important role in shaping who I am today.

The kind of love my nonna felt for us was an unconditional kind of love. She may not have approved of every decision we made, and she may not have approved of everything we did, but when it came to me and my brother Izzy, she had a pretty big soft spot. If Izzy asked her to play hockey, she played hockey. If he requested her famous ribs, she made those ribs. If I asked her to make me my favourite cake for my birthday, she made me that cake. And if I told her I got in trouble with my dad, my dad got in trouble for getting me in trouble. It didn’t take much to make her happy- a phone call, a card, a kiss or a hug. We were the most important people in the world to her, and she lived to make our lives better, and I know she was so proud of us. I have so many memories of my nonna. Like how she never learned to drive, yet was a professional backseat driver. And how she used to love hosting a good garage sale. How she made the best gnocchi I’ve ever had, and how she would do just about anything to make people laugh. From kindergarten until grade 4, I went to school across the street from my Nonna’s house. She watched me and my brother almost every single day, before school and after. And when lunch time came around, I would either walk over to her house for a homemade meal, or she would walk over and hand deliver to me something she just made. I will never forget how one day in the middle of the winter, she walked over with a huge bowl of soup - not a Tupperware, a real bowl, paired with a real spoon- wrapped in two or three dishcloths. She knocked on my classroom door, made her delivery, and sat outside the room and waited until I was finished eating to collect my dishes and bring them back home. Most Wednesday nights, she would go to the community centre across the street to play Bingo, and when I was old enough, she let me join. She would always show me off to all her friends, and would let me buy as many bingo cards as I wanted. And let me take as many S cookies and espressos mixed with milk as I wanted. Me and her both weren’t that great at BINGO, and I honestly can’t ever remember either of us ever winning, but I loved spending that time with her. My nonno and nonna were married for 55 years, and when they weren’t driving each other crazy, they were laughing and giggling together. They went through a lot together- immigrating to Canada from Italy, and my nonno getting sick. But the love between the two of them was so beautiful and unconditional. When my nonna was diagnosed with dementia, she somehow became an even bigger personality than she already was. Her contagious laugh became so much more contagious, and she would sing and dance every chance she was given.

My nonna leaves behind her daughter Adele, her son Robert, her daughter in law Florence, her brother Domenico, her 4 sisters Anna, Maria, Silvana, Adelia and her two grandchildren- myself and Izzy. She was one of the most amazing women I will ever have the pleasure of knowing, and I just know that she is up there laughing and dancing with my nonno. She will be missed so much.