With sadness and heavy hearts we announce the passing of our father, Domenico Teti. He is survived by his loving wife, Maria Rosa, and daughters Agatha (Jacques), Felice (Sam), Rita (Santo), Antoinette (Jose), and Geraldine (Giancarlo). Grandfather of 14 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren.Domenico was born on September 29, 1929 in Filogaso, Calabria, Italy. He immigrated to Canada November of 1956 to be with his wife Maria Rosa.
Our father comes from a large family himself, he is predeceased by his parents Francesco and Agata and siblings Vincenzo, Joseph and Victoria. He is survived by his siblings Francesco, Rosa and Stella.
Our father will be laid to rest on Monday, June 21st at Westminster Cemetery.
Our family would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all of our cousins, aunts and uncles on both sides of our extended family for all their love and support and to the home care PSW Support team, for always being there for us.
Our Nonno was tough as nails. He was a strong and determined man who worked very hard and was a self-proclaimed “Mr. Fix It”. He would try to fix anything he had just so he didn’t have to buy something new or throw something in the garbage. This was because he truly appreciated the value of a dollar and knew just how hard he had to work to earn it. Whether it was fixing his car, the lawn mower, the toilet, the TV or even down to a pair of scissors. Nothing went to the trash without an attempt to fix it at least once or sometimes twice. However, that stubborn determination sometimes got him in to trouble, like a few years ago when he attempted to fix the roof of the house. The strength and determination he had at nearly 90 years old to get up on a ladder to the top of the roof of his house all by himself without asking anyone for help still shocks us today, as it was to the police and firefighters who had come to rescue him down later on that day. Like many Italians, sauce making was a family ritual for us which He and my Nonna were always at the helm of. He knew sauce making like the back of his hand. But sauce making in our family wasn’t normal. It was a huge ordeal. It took days to make. Not because we weren’t good at it, but because we were making sauce for a small village, called the Teti family. And every family wanted at least 30 jars. And as our family’s grew so did the days of making sauce. We would go on for days and be up until the wee hours of the night just for sauce…We could have bought it at the store but something kept us making it every year! But that’s not all my Nonno made, soppressatta/salami and wine were amongst some of his other traits. However, his wine was no ordinary Vino. It was the strongest wine you ever tasted. I mean if you didn’t mix it with at least ¾ of ginger ale your head would be spinning instantly. I think he was the only who could drink it straight. But you could never tell him that. You just drank it and nodded your head as he stared at you from the end of the table. Nonno also loved playing cards. He could play for hours on end whether on his own or against you. Playing scopa or brisc was his favourite and you could not beat him. I mean he was either extremely good or he was cheating us all these years because I don’t think between all my cousins any of us have ever beat him in a card game.
Nonno also had a garden to envy…It was huge, always full and planted with just about every vegetable you could imagine. He truly pride himself on his garden. He and my nonna took care of that garden like a sixth child. Any time you would go visit you would likely find them in the garden. It was usually the first place you would go check to see if they were home before even knocked on the door. In season, you wouldn’t even be able to see them in the garden as the plants grew taller them, not that they were the tallest couple by any means, but you had to totally go on a full search through the garden to find them. The garden he harvested helped feed all five of his daughters’ families for years.
His daughters, Aggie, Lina, Rita, Tota, and Gerri, cherished some found memories of their father, especially when they were kids and Nonno used to take them on family road trips to the beach or park. They loved those simple summer days and especially at the end of every summer when Nonno would
take them to the CNE and his daughters got to see him walk in the union parade each year. It was something they always looked forward to. Nonno was a man of few words and sometimes perhaps misunderstood to have a sometimes-grumpy persona but I would like everyone to remember he lived in a house 6 women. Their house was right next door to his mother-in-law and father-in-law as well as his sister-in-law and his brother-in-law, and their 5 kids. On top of that his daughters married 5 men, all with big hearts, but these men were loud, in your face, and extremely opinionated. Not to mention, none of them were doctors, lawyers or accountants. They were lawn care men and tradesmen that could fix things. And my Nonno was already the self-acclaimed Mr. Fix and master gardener so you all know how that worked out. Then my Nonno was blessed with 14 grandchildren. Me and my cousins were no calm kids. We couldn’t stay put for more any 5 minutes at time. We always had to find something to keep us busy when we visited my grandparents. Since they had very few toys and games for us to play with when we visited, we kept our selves busy by playing hide and seek in their garden, whip ball against the side of their house, or sometimes just throwing rocks at eachother to pass the time. Which occasionally led to a broken window or two. During Christmas or winter it was even more chaotic. We had no place to go but inside. There was close to 30 of us inside all together at once. And when the family came from next door it was closer to 50. They yelling and screaming, that went on just to hear each other talk was defining. Plus, us kids fighting, wrestling and running around the house like wild animals all while Nonno was trying to watch his favorite TLN TV shows probably drove him crazy. And is likely why his wine was made with that little extra zing in it. As crazy as it was we all enjoyed it will all miss knowing Nonno will not be there even if he just sat and watched us from the end of the table while he drinking his wine.
My Nonno was blessed to live a long life, he had 14 grandchildren, and 7 great grandchildren with 3 more to come. But his greatest blessing was my Nonna. She was a modern day saint and the sweetest lady in the entire world. As my Nonna’s dimensia progressed and continued to get worse my Nonno was by her side and tried to take care of her as much as he could. But as she got worse so did he. He missed her kindness, her lovingness and her cooking, which we all know Nonno loved the most. He could eat endless plates of her meals. Pasta fagioli being his favourite. In his last weeks he finally got to be reunited with my Nonna in the same room. Which I think put him at peace knowing he could lay next to his wife and watch her just knowing she is ok. He was unknowingly strong and had a soft side deep within.
We love you Nonno and May you rest in peace. Arrivederci, until we meet again.
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