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29
October

Frank Dell’Anno

Rhody Family Funeral Home

Francesco was born in the village of Tufo, in the province of Latina, located southwest of Rome, Italy. It was Tuesday, October 20, 1931 and his parents were Salvatore and Marie (Tibaldi) Dell’Anno. He was the only boy and third of five children; Brigitte, Maria “Pia”, Frank, Adrianna and Amelia. Their home was a stone house that was at least four hundred years old. The Dell’Anno family farmed.

Sadly, Frank was only able to attend school until grade six because of World War II. Apparently, he was always getting into trouble and so maybe it was a good thing that he was able to get out from underneath a desk and wear off his energy elsewhere. He regularly frustrated the friars who tried to teach him… that doesn’t sound like Frank.

Frank soon enrolled in the armed forces at the young age of just nineteen. Frank became a Sargent in the Italian Army and he served for a few years. In 1955, Frank and his sister Pia immigrated to Canada. It was just after Hurricane Hazel hit the Toronto area and they settled in the Port Credit area.

It was while looking for work at an Employment Agency that Frank met the love of his life, Louisa Singleton Younge Campbell. The year was 1956. Their engagement lasted for two years and they were married June 27, 1959 at Mimico Presbyterian Church at the corner of Royal York and Mimico in Etobicoke. It was also in Etobicoke the young couple settled. They welcomed their sons Mark in 1962 and John in 1963.

Frank had numerous jobs throughout his life ranging from working in sewers, to Wilson Lighting, to garbage collector, his own painting business. He finally settled in at DeSoto Coating in Mississauga and was there for almost twenty-five years before retiring early after a workplace injury.

All the while, Frank and Louisa were flipping houses, upgrading each home while the family lived in it and then selling. In 1983 the family moved from the city to Guelph and then in 1985 they purchased a hobby farm in Scone. Frank loved his life on the farm. He never sat still and was always tinkering, doing odd jobs or caring for the animals. Neustadt became their new home in 1990 before moving back to Scone a few years later. Sadly, the love of Frank’s life, Louisa, died in 1998 and he was totally lost after that. He continued on in life as best he could through this heartache and soon settled in an apartment in Chesley. Frank called this home for the next twenty years.

Frank loved to cook, especially spaghetti and meat “balls”. I am told his pasta was amazing and many Sundays were spent cooking large meals for the family. Red winemaking was another gastronomic delight for Frank though he never really succeeded at it. Still, he enjoyed the wine! 🙂 He enjoyed classic movies and anything with Clint Eastwood. Frank also loved any type of opera music collecting many records and tapes over the years. His favourite though was The Three Tenors, consisting of Spaniards Plácido Domingo and José Carreras as well as Italian Luciano Pavarotti. He also really enjoyed André Rieu. His roots in the “old country” never left him and Frank returned to Italy a couple of times.

Frank’s faith was important to him and he encouraged his boys to read the Bible. While on the farm he had a number of favourite pets. There was “Benny” the ram as well as “Sandy” the dog. Frank will be remembered as a man who was always there for his children, being faithful, hardworking and generous. If Frank was to splurge on anything, it would have been gifts for his family or more specifically, Louisa. He was a family man, through and through, even though he was just a tiny bit opinionated at times. He taught his family the value of a dollar as he was very careful and wise. Frank was also known to make up the occasional word in the English language and would often revert back to speaking Italian.

Sadly, Frank fell in February of 2018 and subsequently moved into Parkview Manor in June of that same year. In recent months his health continued to decline and he passed away on Tuesday, October 29, 2019 in his 89th year.

Loving father of Mark (Gwen) of Salmon Arm, BC and John (Rebecca) of South Korea. Frank will be missed by his grandson Alex, sister Adrianna (Tony) Demio of Burlington, extended family and close friends.

A memorial service celebrating Frank’s life will be held at Rhody Family Funeral Home on Tuesday, November 19, 2019 at 3:30 p.m. Inurnment in Chesley Cemetery.

Memorial donations to the Canadian Wildlife Federation or your favourite Catholic charity would be appreciated as expressions of sympathy.

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