Obituary of Mr. Raffaele Nunno

September 17^th,1931 to October 9^th, 2023

Bisnonno Nonno Father Artist Engineer Storyteller

The patriarch of our family, Raffaele Nunno, has died peacefully at age 92.  He lived and died by his Motto: “Happy, Healthy, Friendly, with a little bit of money”.  In 1957, Raffaele, “Lu Ruscio”, and his sweetheart Margherita Cornacchia came to Canada from a tiny impoverished Italian town in southern Italy, with nothing in their pockets, their adored toddler Maria in their arms and their desire to succeed and make a life for their family in Canada.  Raffaele, our Papa, was a storyteller and raconteur of fable, rhyme, and verse.  He loved to tease that he was an extremely educated man being a graduate of High School (because the primary school in Monteleone Italy was geographically the “highest” in the region of Puglia), College (because he worked at Canada Bread on College St.) and University (because he worked at Bell Canada on University Ave.) —reality was he left school with a grade four education like most southern Italians at that time. He was the most intelligent man; as a self-taught engineer: he set up a pully and rolling-log system to move his bungalow cottage back a few metres so he could build an addition on the front, designed a sand-point well with a washing-machine-motor to bring fresh water into the cottage, built a spectacular spinning Christmas star using a rotisserie from a barbeque, designed and installed a concrete and granite lighted driveway, and was able to fix any broken appliance or tool in his garage workshop.  He worked two full-time jobs, built a rental apartment in their East York home and took on plumbing jobs, “on the side” to support his family of five. Raffaele was a self-taught English speaker and voracious reader.  He was an artist in Italy, who in his early youth was encouraged to take his portfolio to a school of art in Napoli, this education was unfortunately curtailed by the war and circumstance. To watch him seed a yard with grass seed or dance a tarantella was like watching grace in motion. We joyfully stood by as he tickled and adored his grandchildren and great-grandchildren producing Tic Tacs in an unending supply. At the end of every project or the purchase of any new vehicle or home, he made a toast to its success with his favourite liqueur Sambuca; as a family, before we left him at the hospital for the last time, we cheered his successful life in the same way. In the end, Papa succeeded and attained all that he hoped for when he left the comfort of his town and country of his birth to settle in Canada—for this we are astounded, grateful and proud. He was predeceased by his wife Margherita in 2015 and leaves his brother Antonio, sister Pasqualina, his children: Maria, Luigi (Janet), Jack (Deborah); grandchildren: Andrew (Brie), Christopher (Katie), Branden Raffaele (Stephanie), Laura Teresa, Giacomo, Gianni and Adrian (Natalie); and Great-grandchildren: Florence, Thomas, Frances, Iris, Calianne, Veda, Violette, Logan, and Lorenna.  Nieces, nephews, neighbours and countless friends will also be mourning his loss and thankful that he has been a true example of dignity, kindness, friendship, curiosity, and tenaciousness.  He leaves us with two pieces of advice: “Don’t forget to remember and remember not to forget” and “live your life now, con la misura.”