Sante Quattrociocchi

Sante was born April 25, 1927 in Veroli, Frosinone, Italy to parents Giovanni and Filomena.

Sante is now reunited in heaven with his beloved wife Teresa.

Proud Father to Nadia (Franco), Deanna (David) and Dan (Sarah). Beloved Nonno to Tania, Stefan (Jessica), Jack and Charlotte. May he be the guardian angel to his great grandsons Wesley and Nathan. He will be dearly missed by his surviving sister Maria and by his many nieces and nephews.

Sante enjoyed family gatherings where he actively participated until his early 90’s in making homemade lasagna, eggplant parmigiana, and ciambelle. He was also renowned for his rapini and frittatas. In addition, he annually made sausages, wine and preserves that the entire family enjoyed throughout the year.

After his family, his passion in life was his extensive vegetable garden. As recently as this year, he planted 80 tomato plants and a variety of other vegetables, the produce of which he proudly distributed to family, friends and neighbours.

Sante was a loving, devoted family man. He was a man of humility, integrity and respect. A man loved by all and who will remain forever in our hearts.

He will be missed by his family, relatives, friends and all who knew him.

The family would like to thank all for their love and support in their time of need.

Rest in peace Dad. We will always love you.

For those who wish, donations can be made to St. Elizabeth Foundation who cared for him with compassion and dignity, or to a charity of your choice.

Eulogy for our dad…. Sante Quattrociocchi

Read by Nadia Serrentino

Hello everyone and thank you for coming. Today, it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to a remarkable man, our Dad.

Like so many Italian immigrants in the early 50’s, our Dad was the first in his family to make the two week journey to Canada to find opportunity and growth, something that post war Italy could not offer. He arrived at Pier 21 in Halifax in November 1951. When he settled in Toronto, he struggled through the harsh winter and eventually found suitable work and was able to send for Mom, but not before they were married which they did by proxy with his brother Gino standing in for him in Italy..

Dad then sponsored Mom and Gino to come to Canada. Mom joined Dad shortly afterwards and so began their new life together. They scrimped and saved and soon bought a small home on Shortt Street. They then sponsored Dad’s sister, Maria, and her family and housed them as well as his brother, Gino and his family until they were able to manage on their own. They repeated this sponsorship and housing later, on Bowie Avenue, with Mom’s sisters, Olga and Paola and their families. As one of our cousins, Marcella so eloquently put it in the past few days “it’s because of your parents that I am here”.

Our parents worked very hard and by today’s standards probably didn’t have much, but for them it was everything. They had a home for their family, a great big vegetable garden to grow their produce and were always happiest when they were surrounded by family. Many Christmases were spent with aunts, uncles and cousins. When the families became too large, the good times continued with their kids, grandkids and great grandkids.

When Dad lost Mom in 1998, he was so distraught by her loss that we were convinced we would soon lose him too. It was the desire to see his grandchildren Tania and Stefan into adulthood and the possibility of new grandchildren from Dan and Sarah that kept him going. The birth of Jack in 2002 brought him back to life.

Family meant everything to Dad. He helped all of us when we needed it, without being asked. The three of us are fortunate and blessed to get along and we always made sure that Dad was taken care of whether it was taking him along on a vacation, helping with chores around the house, or just staying with him when he wasn’t well, which wasn’t often. He always knew we would be there for him, as he had been there for us.

Dad frequently and happily babysat Jack and Charlotte when he was in his 80’s and loved it. They too enjoyed staying with Nonno because he made the best meals. Dad always made sure to have homemade apple cake waiting for his great grandchildren, Wesley and Nathan when they came to visit. To his grandchildren and great grandchildren your Nonno loved you with all of his heart.

Dad always made sure that his children-in-law felt welcomed, loved and accepted into the family. Frank and Dad shared many interests and while on vacations, chatted frequently about family, Italy, gardens, etc.. Sarah became Dad’s third daughter and she was always loving and attentive to him and he felt the same way about her. David, the newbee, could not drop by without being offered food and drink and could not leave without a bottle of his wine, whether he wanted it or not.

Dad opened his arms to nieces Emily, Marcie and Rita when their father died at a young age. He became their father. They often had “Cousin” gatherings and made sure that Dad was not only there but the centre of attention. Ladies, we thank you and want you to know how much he enjoyed these events and loved you.

Our father was a humble, selfless man who always put family first even in his dying days. When he saw and felt the toll that being his caregiver 24/7 for months was taking on us, he told us to find a place where they could take over. This allowed us to spend the rest of his time with us as his children.

Dad’s legacy will always be his lifelong devotion to family. This unwavering commitment fostered the love and respect we have for him and for each other. Dad, you were our hero, our inspiration and our mentor.

Although it pains us deeply to say “goodbye”, we take comfort in knowing that you are reunited in Heaven with the love of your life, Mom.

Farewell for now Dad. Go in peace. You, who gave so much to all of us and to everyone who was fortunate enough to know you, we say,

Tu sei sempre nei nostri cuori.

Love you always Dad.