Sunday, 16th July 2023
For my sisters and I, while we were growing up in Calgary, our uncle, Zio Pellegrino was a constant and loving presence in our lives, as was his wife and our aunt, Zia Angela. He was my Mom's younger brother and of seven children in their family of origin, they were the only two in Canada. Our Sundays, our Christmases, Easters, birthdays and other family celebrations were always spent together. So for my sisters and I, our Zio Pellegrino and Zia Angela were like second parents and our cousins Nino, Ronny, Roger and Marcello were/are like brothers. When we were older and moved away from Calgary to go to Kelowna, Vancouver, Chicago and in my case, to Italy, the loving presence of our Zia and Zio never diminished. They knew where we were, what we were doing, and, most importantly, how we were doing. They both nurtured deep affection for our husbands and for our children, just like parents do. There are so many memories and I could carry on for pages but at this moment, I only wish to express my love and gratitude to both of them. Grazie Zio e Zia per tutto l'amore e per esserci sempre stato. Vi voglio bene. Maria Vigilante
