Sergio Vervena

Sergio Vervena

March 27, 2013

Sergio was, in many ways, a quiet, understated man. His incredible strength of character, kindness, courage, wit, and positive attitude towards life, however, touched many people deeply, and inspired everyone who knew him. He wasn’t the sort of person to grab the spotlight and centre of attention, but he could make light of serious situations and change the whole mood with little more than his distinctive little laugh and mischievousness.

I am honoured to be able to tell you, today, a little about Sergio’s journey and how he came to affect the lives of so many of us. I am also very saddened that his time with us has past, as I know you all are. I would like to extend condolences to his wife, Vicky, his children, Chris, Melissa, Mitchel, Maria, and Nick, as well as his grandchildren. I would also like to extend my condolences to his siblings, Vince, Ida, and his twin brother, Claudio.

Sergio was born on May 9, 1956, in a small town in central Italy, just ten minutes after his twin brother, Claudio. From the moment of his birth, Sergio had to fight for his life. He was premature and unresponsive, so it was expected that he would not survive. As was the common practice of the day, he was placed on a cold marble slab to confirm his lifelessness. To everyone’s surprise, he screamed. Fortunately, Sergio was a strong, determined individual from birth, as this inauspicious start began a fight for life that was to continue intermittently throughout the next 56 years.

As a child, and being the youngest and the smallest, Sergio often relied upon his wit to get him out of trouble.

One story Claudio told me, was about a time when their mother had bought them both new clothes. She warned them not to get them dirty and to change before going outside to play. Claudio almost immediately spilled something on his outfit but quickly apologized to his mother. Sergio, on the other hand, wore his outfit all day, while playing soccer. Later, when he came into the house with dirty and grass-stained pants, he cleverly tried to deflect his mother’s anger by reminding her that Claudio had stained his new clothes while he only had a little dust on his, and brushing his pant leg, added, “and see, it brushes right off!”

Like many little boys, Sergio liked to tease his older sister. She had a habit of leaving the best parts of her meal until last. Sergio would wait until she had eaten everything else, and then he would scoop the best off her plate and run off with them.

For the most part, Sergio had a fun childhood, running through the streets of their small town with his twin brother; playing soccer; playing gambling games, using their shirt buttons as chips; and dreaming of becoming karate masters.

When Sergio was 16, his older brother Vince, who had already migrated to Canada, called for the whole family to come over. Once in Canada, their dream could at last become a reality, and Sergio and Claudio began taking karate lessons together. Both showed talent for the sport, and even trained in Japan. Sergio achieved a first-degree black belt.

Immediately upon arriving in Canada, Sergio was enrolled in school and began working part time at the Palliser Hotel to help his family out. Despite not speaking a word of English when he arrived, Sergio’s determination and intelligence allowed him to work, finish high school, and gain entrance into the Banff School of Fine Arts. Sergio showed aptitude for painting landscapes, and studied art until the first of many serious illnesses changed the course of his life.

Sergio eventually went to work in the construction industry after regaining his health. He later met his wife, Vicky, and started a family to whom he was very devoted. He did his best to provide for all their needs and enjoyed sharing their interests.

Sergio loved to cook for his family, and Nick’s favourite memory of his dad is of the time they spent together, each day, while Sergio cooked breakfast for him. They would start by talking over breakfast, and would often end up having long conversations that lasted all morning and into the afternoon. I can very much relate to that, Nick, because many times your dad and I would talk on the phone or meet for a coffee to discuss a work issue, and end up spending hours talking about everything else as well.

Sergio spent as much time as he could with each of his children, and they all have special memories. Maria remembered when a robin nested in their garage. The robin had laid eggs, and when they hatched, Sergio ran around trying to catch one to keep as a family pet. Mitchell’s favourite memory also took place in the garage, where he and Sergio would target practice with pellet guns for hours on end. Luckily, the robin episode did not occur at the same time.

The memory that sticks out in Melissa’s mind is of one time, when she and her 2-year-old daughter Kiyra were visiting Sergio at the hospital. Sergio, being his usual mischievous self, had taught the little girl to say, “blow it out your butt, old man” when he said to her, “blow it out your butt, old lady”. Well, on this particular trip to the hospital, as Sergio started the banter back and forth with the little girl, an elderly woman walked by, just in time to hear Kiyra yell out, “blow it out your butt, old man!!!” The old woman gave Melissa a very disapproving look that plainly showed her disgust that a mother would allow her child to speak to an older gentleman in such a disrespectful manner. Sergio, of course, got a tremendous kick out of that.

Sergio’s top priority was always his family, but his second concern was for the people who worked with him and for him. This is where I came to know Sergio best.

Although I attended high school with Sergio, I really didn’t get to know him well until 20 years later when he came to work at the same company I was at. He was hired as the new foreman, and when I went to introduce myself, I was surprised to see it was Sergio. We got reacquainted, and that was the start of a great working relationship as well as a wonderful friendship. As I got to know Sergio personally, I learned about his strength of character and values. Thinking back now, I realize how fortunate I was to have Sergio enter my life.

Sergio was very hardworking, honest, and loyal. He would never even dream of marking an extra hour of time. One time, we were very busy and the crews were working long hours. I was in desperate need to have a small, overdue project completed, but because the crews were already tired, I didn’t want to ask anyone to work more overtime. In the morning, when I met with Sergio to pick up the time sheet and to discuss the day’s schedule, he informed me that the small project was completed and ready to be poured. I asked him why the work had been done since I hadn’t asked for it. His response was, “I know you didn’t ask for it, but I also know you needed it. Instead of having the men work longer hours, I went and did it myself, after the men went home.” When I got into the office, I looked over the time sheet and found that Sergio’s hours matched those of his men. I called and asked why his hours didn’t reflect the extra work he had put in. His response was, “payroll may not have understood why I had worked so many extra hours compared to my men, so I didn’t mark them.” From that day on, I always checked his time sheets to make sure he had claimed for all the hours that he had worked, for he would often put in extra time with out marking it.

On another occasion, one of Sergio’s recent hires ended up in a position where being in the wrong place at the wrong time led him to be suspected of theft. Sergio was advised that dismissal might be the best course of action in this case. Despite the fact that Sergio did not yet have a strong relationship with the new employee, he immediately took a stand against the dismissal unless some proof could be provided. He not only refused to dismiss the man, he was willing to risk his own position for the principle. No proof was ever found, and the incident soon fell by the wayside. Sergio did not make a big deal of the incident, and the employee never knew of the stance that Sergio had taken on his behalf. The young man was later found to be very trust worthy and was eventually promoted by senior management to a position of authority; something that always pleased Sergio. Though he was a small man in stature, when he chose to defend you or his principles, Sergio was a giant.

Sergio’s kindness and generosity towards other people often took precedence over his own needs. He didn’t have a lot, yet on many occasions, Sergio would provide newcomers who worked for him with transportation; lend them his own tools if they couldn’t afford them; and would even lend them money until their next pay day if needed. I advised him, a few times, that since these people were new, they might not show up for work again, and he could lose what he had loaned them. He would respond with, “…oh well, in the end, its just money…” and he continued to help them in anyway he could.

In the last year of his life, Sergio was still trying to help his men. Even though he was very sick, he turned his attention to helping one of them to find a new job. Sergio took it upon himself to make phone calls and forward resumes on his behalf.

If his character, intelligence, and kindness weren’t inspiration enough, all of us must be moved by the courageous and positive way Sergio lived his life. Whereas most of us don’t give mortality a passing thought until we get older, Sergio was barely 20 when he had to face his first serious illness. From that point on, he stared death in the face so many times that they had become well acquainted. He never flinched, showed fear, nor doubted his ability to triumph, but instead, just tipped his head in acknowledgment of his adversary, thought, “not today”, and simply moved on with life. In his final battle, when he told me that for the first time, he might not prevail, I was left distraught and speechless. Though he was the one who should have required comforting, he made light of the situation to ease my pain and sadness. His courage and grace in facing his own mortality as well as his continuing concern for others should be an inspiration to us all.

Sergio, you have touched so many of us in so many ways, family, friends, co-workers, and acquaintances who today have come to say their farewell to you. Although you are no longer with us, we know you will always be in our hearts.

Thank you for the memories you have left us, and thank you for the joy and inspiration you brought us. We will never forget you, and we will miss you dearly.

Arthur (Ritz) Razzini